Puy Road
The Road of Le Puy to Santiago de Compostela
The history, legends, development and infrastructure of the stations along the French Puy Road or Via Podensis through Le Puy-en-Velay, Conques, Cahors and Moissac to the shrine of Saint James at Compostela
Via Podensis
The Puy Road was one of the four French pilgrimage roads to Santiago de Compostela.
Espalion Perse Church of Saint Hilarianus
Espalion was an important halt on the Puy Road to Compostela. Legend had it that this was the site of the martyrdom of Saint Hilarianus.
Saint-Pierre de Bessuéjouls
Pilgrims came by an isolated priory, Saint Pierre de Bessuéjouls. The church was set within the small wooded valley of the Astruges. The belltower is a remarkable vestige of the Pilgrimage Road.
Conques and Compostela
Conques and Compostela formed an alliance early on. The French abbey was an established pilgrimage centre which exerted an important influence on the shrine of Saint James at Compostela
Aubrac Notre-Dame des Pauvres
The hospice of Aubrac Notre-Dame des Pauvres was a vital station on the Puy Road to Compostela. Located high on the plateau, it was dedicated to the care of pilgrims.
Bishop Godescalc departed from Aquitaine to offer prayers
The first recorded pilgrimage across the Pyrenees to the shrine of Saint James is that of the bishop Godescalc of Le Puy-en-Velay. This occurred in the winter of the year 951.
Sainte Foy: Long ago the holy martyr’s body was secretly carried away from the city of Agen and brought to Conques by two monks
Along the Via Podensis pilgrims directed their way over harsh terrain and through inhospitable lands to reach a remote sanctuary, the great abbey of Conques. There were housed the relics of a virgin martyr of the Roman persecutions of the early fourth century.