Henry Adams would be stricken to know that his beloved Mont Saint Michel and Chartres have been removed from Europe.
Henry Adams would be stricken to know that his beloved Mont Saint Michel and Chartres have been removed from Europe.
Over the years we have been to both and were disturbed mostly at how Mont St. Michel has changed. It has become more of a tourist trap than anything else and the chapel is hard to find for the public unless one is determined.
Chartres OTOH is still a center for pilgrimages and is fairly intact.
Sadly, the beautiful cathedrals, basilica throughout France at least remain so only in outward appearance, inside being more similar to older train stations. The beauty and majesty inside are usurped by more modern trappings, sometimes modernistic banners and feel-good stuff tacked around, the tabernacles gone, and even the big crucifixes in the back rooms.
Shells, for the most part. IOW.
Worst of all, we watched the gradual deterioration of Lourdes from a spectacle of solid faith decades ago to a kumbaya center for ALL New Age faiths. Haven't been back now for nearly ten years.
Encouraging, though, the core of solid faithful is there and defiant. Despite the best efforts of the anti-church elements, it prevails.