Sainte-Anne d’Auray celebrates the 400th anniversary of the biggest pilgrimage in Brittany
Each summer, several hundred thousand pilgrims flock to Sainte-Anne d’Auray, a spiritual high place in Brittany. But the 2025 edition of Grand Pardon, scheduled for July 24 to 27, will have a very special scope: it marks the 400th anniversary of the pilgrimage, initiated in 1625 after the appearances of Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Christ, to a Breton peasant.
“Deepen our spiritual life”
For Father Gwénaël Maurey, rector of the sanctuary, this jubilee is “an opportunity to renew and deepen our spiritual life in the light of Saint Anne’s message” as he entrusted to RCF.
Throughout the weekend, prayer times, masses, evenings and other spiritual animations will punctuate the program. The highlight of this great forgiveness will take place on July 26, the day of the feast of Saint Anne. This day attracts tens of thousands of faithful each year.
Cardinal Robert Sarah commissioned by the Pope
To mark the importance of this jubilee, Pope Leo XIV personally commissioned a major figure of the Church: Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect emeritus of the congregation for divine worship and the discipline of the sacraments. Its presence will further strengthen the influence of this pilgrimage, the most frequented in all of Brittany.
A story born of an appearance
The pilgrimage found its origin in 1625, when a humble peasant, Yvon Nicolazic, claims to have been visited on the night of March 7 to 8 by Saint Anne. Guided by a mysterious light, he discovered a small wooden statue of Olivier in a field, where, according to the saint, was once a ruined chapel that she wishes to see rebuilt.
The bishop of Vannes of the time, Sébastien de Rosmadec, opens a canonical investigation. The testimonies abound, healings are reported, and the Church recognizes the facts as authentic. A first chapel was blessed in 1628, before the sanctuary gradually took on the scale that we know today.
From Napoleon III to John XXIII: a place steeped in history
The current basilica, consecrated in 1877, became a national symbol over the centuries. In 1858, the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie went there on pilgrimage. In 1949, it was Bishop Roncalli, then apostolic nuncio in France – future Pope John XXIII – who presided over the festivals dedicated to Saint Anne.
In addition to its spiritual importance, the sanctuary is also a place of memory, with a memorial dedicated to Breton soldiers who fell during the Great War, erected between 1922 and 1932. No less than 8000 names were engraved there.
On September 20, 1996, the historic visit of Pope John Paul II deeply marked the 150,000 faithful present and still left a strong spiritual heritage today. The sovereign pontiff had delivered a discourse intended particularly for young couples and their children. “The church trusts you and counts on you, parents, especially in the perspective of the third millennium, so that young people can know Christ and follow him generously. »»
An artistic and cultural dimension
Sainte-Anne d’Auray is also a living artistic center, thanks to the Academy of Music and Sacred Arts, directed by Bruno Belliot, also secretary general of the sanctuary. “This great forgiveness is an event constituting from Breton cultural heritage, it federates far beyond the only religious public, by affecting all generations and all sensitivities,” he said in the newspaper Ouest-France.
