The Tenth Day of Magdalenes: Vezelay

One of the world's most beautiful churches is found in the tiny town of Vezelay in the Burgundy region of France, one of the four original gateways to the Camino Santiago Compostela (also known in France as the Chemin de Saint Jacques) . Originally a Benedictine Abbey built in honor of the Virgin Mary, the Abbey was re-dedicated to Mary Magdalene in the tenth century when her relics were claimed to have been "transferred" there from Provence. In one version of the story, a monk from Vezelay had been "divinely instructed" to steal her bones from the rival monastery in Maximin La Saint Baume in order to keep them safe from Saracen invasions.
  The two churches continue a centuries-old debate over who has the "real" relics now. If a sense of numinousity is any  indication, I vote for Vezelay. This shimmering symphony in stone is bathed with a gentle golden light on sunny days, creating a luminous rosy glow everywhere you look. The simplicity of the structure is acoustically magnificent, and on most days you can hear a wonderful new monastic community, the Society of Jerusalem, singing Vespers in the early evening hours. You can hear them singing in this you tube video about the pilgrimage trail to Vezelay: