Basilique Notre-Dame du Spasme

About

Notre-Dame du Spasme Basilica is a basilica located in the commune of La Livinière in the French department of Hérault.

Description: In Romanesque style, the early construction dates back to the 12th century. The building was redesigned several times in the 17th and 19th centuries. Today it has three naves of four spans, with arched bottoms on three spans. The basilica and the garden of the Virgin are registered as historical monuments by order of 15 February 2006.

History: Nicolas de La Jugie (1315-1376), lord of La Livinière, reportedly built the basilica to house a statue of the Virgin of Spasm, reported from Jerusalem. This statue represents the Virgin's knees bent, in an attitude of deep pain, according to the tradition where Mary, seized of desolation, sees her son coming out of the court, unfolding under the weight of the cross, the head crowned with thorns and the face covered with spitting. The sanctuary is thus considered the "little sister" of the Church of Our Lady of the Spasm of Jerusalem. The original statue was stolen in 1960; the one visible today is a copy. Nicolas' father, Jacques...