Did you ever see the movie “Field of Dreams” with Kevin Costner? If you didn’t, he plays a farmer who lives in Iowa and is at point in his life where he wonders what he will achieve before he grows old. Then one night as he’s walking through his cornfields, he hears a voice whisper to him, “If you build it, they will come.” Shortly after, he has a vision to tear up his fields and build a baseball field. What would you do if this happen to you? Would you listen to the voice and abide by the vision or would you just ignore it? The movie and Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, France, are extremely different, but what if I told you that they both had a very similar storyline?

The story of Mont Saint Michel started in 708 A.D. when Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, had a vision from the Archangel Michael. In his vision, the Bishop was told to build a sanctuary for pilgrims to visit on Mont-Tombe, which would later be re-name Mont Saint Michel (St. Michael’s Mount). Thinking that perhaps this vision was only a dream, the Bishop ignored the request however, Archangel Michael was persistent. The story goes on to explain that the Bishop received two more visions and in the last one, Archangel Michael wanted to make sure the Bishop knew that his vision was true and not a dream and burned a small hole in his head to get his attention and whispered, “build it and they will come”. Sounds like a pretty interesting way for Archangel Michael to get his message across but apparently it worked.  

Now this request was very different from any other church, Cathedral or Basilica previously built. The site for Mont Saint Michel was to be built on a small rocky island in Normandy, just off the main land, and had a 264 foot rock perch on the island upon which the church was to be built on top of it. And if that wasn’t challenging enough, the island was cut off from the mainland twice a day by high tide. No doubt Bishop Aubert had his work cut out for him. 

Construction of the Romanesque style Abbey at Mont Saint Michel began in 708 AD and continued for over 1300 years, adding Gothic architecture in the process, until it was completed.  Perched atop this island, its spires soar 302 feet towards the sky and has a gilded golden statue of Archangel Michael presiding at the highest point. Several crypts and chapels had to be built to form a foundation that would disperse and compensate for the incredible amount of weight created by this structure. Walking through the four crypts I could see various doorways and windows that were 2 or 3 meters (6-10 feet), thick which was a good indication to the amount of support needed to build this immense structure (you’ll see these doorways in the photos below).  And while down in the crypts, the thought of this was daunting and had me thinking..”yeah, I think it’s time to go upstairs now.”  

Are you wondering why an abbey would need to be so large and heavy? During the 10^th century, Mont Saint Michel had become a renowned Benedictine monastery known for its center of learning. It was subjected to attacks from the King of England, especially during the Hundred Years’ War therefore, needed to create an immense and impenetrable wall that would fortify the island. Powerful tides both exposed and protected this abbey and at times would cut Mont Saint Michel off from the mainland due to high tides, and still does even to this day. To address this issue, a newly designed walkway and road was built on stilts in 2014 and allows continuous access to Mont Saint Michel while allowing water to flow freely around the island.

Needless to say, it is a magnificent and impressive place of worship and history. Being able to walk in the abbey, rooms and halls as well as churches, you can get a sense of what life must have been like in medieval times, which was hard, cold and brutal. Walking up the 350 steps, 200 in the Grande Rue, then around 150 inside the abbey, will definitely give you a workout but the views and ability to see the various areas of Mont Saint Michel and surrounding areas are worth it and 3 million visitors a year proves it. 

With its staggering views, it is definitely one of Europe’s most unforgettable and sacred sites and continues to be a place of worship, education, and pilgrimage. It is another monumental and historical place within the gem of Normandy.  For myself, Mont Saint Michel was like no other church or basilica that I have been to and its longevity, history and sense of sacredness was majestic.  Below is a video link of Mont Saint Michel to provide a visual sample of the magnificence and grandiose of this holy site.

So Archangel Michael was right in his visions to Aubert, Bishop of Avranches.  He just had to trust the angel and act on faith: “ Build it and they will come”.  Thankfully the archbishop listened to the angel’s request to build Mont Saint Michel and who knows how many more will come to visit or complete their pilgrimage here. But one thing is for certain. If Mont Saint Michel has lasted this long, then perhaps it’ll be here for another 1000 years.

Until next time, we’ll keep moving on and see where we go via El Camino Thru My Lens.

Video of mont saint michel