Saint-Etienne basilica in Neuvy-Saint-Sepulchre: crusades and Precious Blood
And also
The tops
Viscount of Bourges, Geoffroy, founded this church in 1045, in order to expiate a big sin: his nephew’s murder, son of Eudes prince of Déols.
A rotunda with capitals
This unique rotunda, in France, has 3 floors and 11 columns with nice capitals (11 columns like the real number of Apostles loyal to Jesus?).
Typically Romanesque, those one represent animals (monkeys, archer centaurs, big cats) and small characters.
In the middle, until the French Revolution, we found an altar which symbolized Jesus Christ grave, destroyed in 1806.
The basilica is made of two parts: the rotunda, then the church itself dedicated to saint Jacques.
Famous architect Viollet-le-Duc restored the basilica in the middle of the 19th c.
The Precious Blood
Neuvy is a stop on the road to Compostela. A very nice stop: here, pilgrims could pray on a unique relic in France, two blood drops belonging to Jesus Christ, the Precious Blood!
And also a piece of the Cross and a nail used for the crucifixion.
The pilgrimage of the Precious Blood takes place every year on Easter.
But like the book Guide du Val de Loire mystérieux (editions Tchou) says, we don’t know exactly if that blood is the genuine one…
Oh, well, facts are here! A man called Eudes de Déols, a cardinal, brought back this blood from Crusade in the middle of the 13th c.
A relic preserved from wars of Religion and French Revolution, fortunately!