Churches and shrines: Courmayeur

In 1964 Entrèves, Courmayeur’s hamlet, established its own parish, including the parish church and the chapel of the same name village, as well as the chapels of San Grato in La Palud, of Meyen, Planpincieux and of Notre-Dame in Pont.

Saint Margaret chapel
The old, little church dedicated to patron saint of Entrèves (celebrated on July 20th), is located behind the Passerin d’Entrèves fortified house. It was mentioned as early as the 19th July 1567 in the bishop’s visit by Monsignor Ferragata. Only the wooden, seventeenth-century altar remains inside with a central canvas depicting the Virgin with Child, Saint Margaret and Saint Anthony.

Saint Margaret parish church
Built between 1965 and 1967 basing on a project by architect Cosmacini, inside its hosts a nineteenth-century crucifix from the parish church in Courmayeur.

The current parish church building dates back to the first half of the eighteenth century.
The church has a basilican plan with three naves covered by cross vaults and marked by six squared pillars with pilasters. The narrow choir is a straight apse. To the north, you can see the slope of the bell-tower foundation enclosed in the walls. The latter, which should date back to the XIV century, has an octagonal spire and a westerly facade with a tondo depicting a cross.
There is an interesting main altar, which dates back to the XVIII century, in black marble. Also worth noting, a canvas representing the martyr St. Sebastian, from the XVIII century, a single votive offering of a canvas, dated 1704, which takes its inspiration from the invasion of French troupes of Valle d’Aosta, an invasion that saved the village of Courmayeur.
The chapel to the left of the choir has an inscription that recalls Prince Umberto of Savoy and Princess Maria José’s honeymoon in Courmayeur in 1930.
Outside, in the square, the church presents a double flight of stairs with a pulpit. A hollow created using ice-axes hosts the statue of the priest, mountaineer and historian, Abbot Joseph-Marie Henry.

This church is located on the road to Val Veny, with a Brenva glacier backdrop. It was once dedicated to Vierge du Terrier and today to Notre-Dame de la Guérison. The sanctuary was built in 1792, on a stone mass, called a “berrier” in Patois, meaning rock or stone. In 1816 the small sanctuary was knocked by the relentless advancement of the Brenva glacier: only the statue of the Madonna remained intact, something that was considered miraculous.

The current sanctuary was rebuilt in 1867 and consecrated the following year. The supernatural fame of the Virgin Mary has made this sanctuary a place of pilgrimage. Its inside walls are completely covered in crutches, votive offerings and gifts, left here by believers in her miracles.

The Alpine Guides of Courmayeur together with the faithful, celebrate the beginning of the summer season on 2nd July. On that occasion, the procession on foot also takes place, starting from the goat bridge.
Furthermore, on 8th September, the faithful arrive at the sanctuary on a pilgrimage starting from various locations in the area.

Located in the Petigax Square beside the Malluquin tower, the façade is orned by a buffered, mullioned windowand some little stone arches.