When was Mont Saint Michel Built?
The earliest known habitation was by an Irish hermit in the 400s. The Irish are famous for producing bachelors. It was called Mont Tombe for the next 300 years until the Franks (French) conquered, and the rest is history. If it was Mont Tombe, meaning tomb, then who was buried there? Alas, the answer to that is probably lost to the sands of time.
The small sanctuary in honor of Saint Michael was built in 708. The magnificent Abbey was built 300 years later but was badly burned by the Bretons. It was rebuilt one last time using Norman/Gothic-style architecture and completed in 1228.
Why Build Mont Saint Michel?
It began as a tiny, isolated, pocket of Christianity in a pagan world. It became a rich and politically powerful Abbey under the patronage of William the Conqueror. The Benedictine monks built a large library and it became a major center for medieval learning.
The Archangel Michael is not only the slayer of evil and the leader of God’s celestial armies, but he also weighs the souls of the dead on Judgement Day and ferries them to heaven or to hell. This is why he carries scales in his other hand. Therefore, people pilgrimage to Saint Michael’s sanctuary to pray for the dead, ask for protection, and do penance.
Look how calmly he gazes down at evil. And he holds his sword in such a casual manner. This statue resides in the abbey.
Someone recently tried to steal Saint Michel from his rightful place at a church in Mexico. Do you know what happened to the thief? Since Michael is an avenging angel and the lead archangel, he always has a sword in order to fight evil. The thief fell and landed on the angel’s sword. How’s that for divine justice? Yep, got him right in the neck. He tried to slit his throat, maybe. Who knows?
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