Chapelle de la Visitation (Chapelle des Apparitions)
The convent chapel where Margaret Mary Alacoque saw Christ show his heart, and where her relics lie.
- Abbey or church
- 1 h 19 from Beaune
- Allow 20 to 30 minutes
- Paray-le-Monial
€285one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Official website
- sacrecoeur-paray.org
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 19 by road (109 km), €285 one way for the whole car.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the place
The Chapelle de la Visitation, also called the Chapelle des Apparitions, is the chapel of the Visitation convent in the centre of Paray-le-Monial. Here, between 1673 and 1675, the nun Margaret Mary Alacoque described a series of visions of Christ that spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart across the Catholic world. Her reliquary makes the chapel the main goal of the pilgrims who come to Paray.
What you will see
Above the door, a carved tympanum shows the Last Supper, with Saint John resting against Christ's chest. Inside, a large mural painted in 1966 fills the choir: Christ shows his radiant heart, surrounded by the Virgin, Saint John, Saint Paul, Saint Francis of Assisi and other saints. To the right of the choir, a small chapel holds the reliquary, where a wax figure of Margaret Mary lies over her bones, beneath a mosaic of the Sacred Heart crowned with flames. The grille between the chapel and the nuns' side recalls the place where she knelt during the visions.
History
The chapel of the Visitation convent was built in 1633. Margaret Mary Alacoque, born in 1647 at Vérosvres in the Charolais, entered the convent in 1671, at the age of 24. Between 1673 and 1675 she reported several apparitions of Christ during prayer; in the best known, in June 1675, he showed her his heart and asked for a feast in its honour. Her confessor, the Jesuit Claude La Colombière, believed her and became the first to spread her message.
The chapel was remodelled in 1854 in a style that echoes the Romanesque basilica. Margaret Mary was beatified in 1864, and her reliquary dates from that time; she was canonised in 1920. Large organised pilgrimages began in the 1870s, and the Feast of the Sacred Heart, which she had asked for, is now kept by the whole Catholic Church each June.
Planning your visit
Tips for your visit
The chapel is a place of prayer, open to visitors outside services, and silence is expected. Mass is said here at 11:00 on weekdays and at 9:00 on Sundays, with morning prayer at 8:30 and vespers at 17:30 every day. The sanctuary's welcome desk opens every day, morning and afternoon, and can tell you about the other chapels of Paray. The basilica is a few minutes' walk away.
Around here
What to combine with Chapelle de la Visitation (Chapelle des Apparitions) on the same day, nearest first.
Questions
Chapelle de la Visitation (Chapelle des Apparitions) is about 1 h 19 from Beaune by road (109 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €285 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? Margaret Mary's confessor, Claude La Colombière, died in Paray in 1682 at the age of 41 and was canonised in 1992; his relics rest in a chapel of their own in the town.
Sources
Chapelle de la Visitation (Chapelle des Apparitions) with a private driver
€285 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests