Led by Christiane Keller, 84 local authors have contributed to the production of a brand new discovery guide to Souvigny. This book combines meditations and tips.
It is neither a guide“religious“, nor a simple “topoguide”. This is a guide for lovers of “inner journeys”! Christiane Keller, a well-known local author, has just completed a colossal compilation work proposed by 84 lovers of the town of Souvigny on behalf of a major French publisher of guides “spiritual“, Salvador. It gives “Spiritual guide of Souvigny. Its sanctuary, its paths” and it’s a little jewel of texts chosen to go on a walk around Souvigny, whether you know it or not…
The sanctuary from different angles
The structure of the book is quite simple. One, the sanctuary. Two, his walking paths. In the first part, we thus discover nine thematic routes to discover the priory of Souvigny with the eyes of those who know it by heart. This is what makes all the flavor of this little guide: we rediscover this flagship city of Bourbonnais through often overlooked anecdotes. From the angle of its saints, Mayeul and Odilon, it is Eliane Ginon, former bursar of the diocese. Happiness then to discover the little architectural secrets of the sanctuary, thanks to some indications from Annie Regond, lecturer in art history at the University of Clermont II. Music, gardens, the Bourbons: no theme has escaped local authors.
Paths to walk towards the essential
After the sanctuary, place for interior journeys on the roads of Souvigny and Bourbonnais. “What makes all the beauty of the routes to Santiago de Compostela is the strength of encounters and inner silences, emphasizes Christiane Keller. We tried to take the curious on a journey of the same type, but in Bourbonnais“. This part of the guide was produced under the direction of Geneviève Fleury, from the association ‘Les Amis de Saint-Jacques en Bourbonnais’. The opportunity to learn more about the good plans for walks around Souvigny, and also to discover the great hiking trails of the department: the GR300 or the paths of Saint-Jacques in Bourbonnais (going from Vezelay, Nevers to Saint-Jacques passing through the Allier), but also the GR303 (crossing the west and north of the Allier), the GR463 known as the path of Saint-Martin de Tours which hems the whole of the South of Allier, without forgetting the route of the churches paintings, the paths of Cluny in Auvergne and the route of the Sanctuary Cities of central France.
Poetics of landscapes
It will be understood: practicing Catholics, people in search of spirituality, or simple hikers, there is something for everyone. “To move and to be moved have the same root”. concludes Christiane Keller. These stories are to be savored like stories of friends crossed on the way. This is the second opus of a national guide which aims to make discover the greatest French pilgrimage sites: the first having been Le Puy en Velay, the next Le Mont Saint-Michel… A beautiful highlight for Souvigny, thanks to its volunteers!