The Viewpoint of the Cross of Saint-Remacle

Saint-Remacle had a custom of withdrawing to the higher points of the Ardennes for his deepest meditations. On a particular day in his life, he felt called to a high mountain with a view of all that he held dear—his hermitage, his chapel, and the broad plains where his people lived. He climbed to the summit, where only wind and rock could be found.

Once at the top, Saint-Remacle fell to his knees and began to pray. For hours he remained there, his face turned heavenward, his words spoken with such warmth that the very air around him seemed to tremble.

According to legend, something extraordinary occurred on that mountain when Saint-Remacle was in his most intense moment of prayer. A light appeared above him, bright as the sun yet gentle as moonlight. When the light faded, a cross stood there—stone, grown from the rock, perfect and beautiful.

The local people, who had noticed the strange light flash from below, climbed to the summit and found Saint-Remacle in his prayer, and before him the inexplicable cross. They understood that this was a sign of God’s approval of the Saint’s work.

From that day forth, the cross stood as a witness upon the mountain. Pilgrims came to this place to pray and to marvel at the panorama of the Ardennes, convinced that this viewpoint was a place where prayers were answered more swiftly. Generations of the faithful have poured out their hearts at the foot of the cross.

To this day, the cross still stands in that same spot, defiantly weathering centuries of wind and rain. The viewpoint still offers the magnificent panorama that Saint-Remacle’s visitors beheld, and many say that when you stand here and pray, you feel the same peace that the Saint knew upon this mountain.