The Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon is calling for the generosity of the faithful to fund the renovation of the Sanctuary of Cotignac, a pilgrimage site that attracts up to 150,000 visitors each year.
A "necessity", in the words of Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon, who calls for everyone's "generosity" to "restore this important site of French Christian culture so that it may benefit the greatest number of people". Indeed, this sanctuary dedicated to the Holy Family welcomes, outside of Covid periods, up to 150,000 pilgrims and tourists annually.
To receive these faithful, "it was urgent" to renovate, explains the sanctuary's director, Patrick Rocher, to La Croix. The first phase of work, nearly completed, focused on bringing the buildings up to fire and health safety standards—in an area prone to large-scale forest fires—and expanding the restroom facilities. It is to finance this part of the renovations that the diocese is appealing for donations, a first for this relatively little-known sanctuary.
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Other work will begin in 2022, to create a meeting room suitable for the site's crowds and to modernize the shop, which dates from the 1980s. The project also aims to renovate the chapel of the Saint-Joseph du Bessillon monastery, which since February 2019 has been home to the religious sisters of an Argentine congregation, Mater Dei, replacing the Benedictine nuns who had previously maintained this site of the apparition of Saint Joseph.
Finally, an outdoor altar will be set up on an esplanade to accommodate up to 2,000 faithful during major pilgrimages. The total cost of these renovations is estimated at 4 million euros, with work planned over three to four years.
Located in the hinterland of Toulon, this discreet sanctuary was built on the sites of two apparitions of members of the Holy Family. It consists of two sites, 2.5 km apart and connected by a path through the forest: Notre-Dame-de-Grâces, built on the site of the Marian apparitions in 1519, and the Saint-Joseph du Bessillon monastery, on the opposite hill, where Saint Joseph appeared in 1660.