Our Lady of the End of the Earth

Marian devotion of Soulac-sur-Mer (New Aquitaine)

The invocation Our Lady of the End of the Earth corresponds to the Roman sanctuary of Note--Give me the Fin des Terres, en Soulac-sur-Mer (Gironda, Nueva Aquitania, Francia)Not to Colombia. The name refers to the extreme character of the place, on the Atlantic coast of Médoc, traditionally considered as "the end of the land" or a border territory by the sea.

Main data

Origin and history

The invocation Our Lady of the End of the Earth corresponds to the Roman sanctuary of Note--Give me the Fin des Terres, en Soulac-sur-Mer (Gironda, Nueva Aquitania, Francia)Not to Colombia. The name refers to the extreme character of the place, on the Atlantic coast of Médoc, traditionally considered as "the end of the land" or a border territory by the sea.

La tradition local links this enclave with the Holy women who, according to medieval piety, would have reached the coasts of Aquitaine after the apostolic dispersion; that memory fed an ancient Marian pilgrimage in Soulac. The documented history points out that the church was an important place of worship and passage of pilgrims in the Middle Ages, and that the present basilica retains a long devotional continuity despite the changes of the coast and the displacements of the coastal line.

In the modern documentation available, the sanctuary appears as one of the great Romanesque testimonies of the Médoc, associated with local Marian devotion and medieval pilgrimage, but there is no single date of origin of the image or of strictly documented foundation for the invocation that is certain in the sources consulted.

The image and the sanctuary

The Virgin venerated in Soulac--sur-Mer is a Marian image of Romanesque character, attached to the temple of Note--Give me the Fin des Terreswhich today is presented as minor basilica. The sources consulted do not have a uniform technical description of the original material of the image, so it should not be stated beyond that it is an old cult image integrated into the basic set.

The sanctuary is the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Fin-de-Terres, Romanesque building famous for its historical and artistic value, located in Soulac-sur-Mer. The name "Fin des Terres" underlines its coastal location and its status as a spiritual milestone at the end of the Médoc.

Sponsorship and coronation

The sources consulted do not contain a universal, national or diocesan patronage expressly defined for this advocation. At the local level, its importance is mainly that of Marian Sanctuary of Soulac-sur-Mer and place of traditional devotion of the coast of Médoc.

No documented canonical coronation for this image in the verified sources consulted.

Party and devotion

La main party is the September 8, date of Nativity of the Virgin Mary and frequent celebration in numerous Marian shrines. In this case, the choice of date fits the Marian tradition of the place, although the revised sources do not detail a particular liturgical decree of the sanctuary.

Devotion is expressed in its condition of place of medieval pilgrimage and a coastal sanctuary associated with the Christian memory of the Médoc. The popular traditions linked to "holy women" and the antiquity of Marian devotion are part of the spiritual identity of the sanctuary, although not all these traditions can be treated as a strictly proven history.

Link to the Rosary

In the sources consulted no specific and documented link to the Rosary that is in this advocation. Even so, as in every Marian sanctuary, the Rosary naturally accompanies this devotion because it leads to contemplating, with Mary, the mysteries of Christ and sustains the believing memory of the sanctuaries dedicated to the Virgin.