Val-de-Grâce

You are looking at one of the most significant architectural expressions of gratitude in French history. Queen Anne of Austria commissioned the Val-de-Grâce as a votive offering to the Virgin Mary following the birth of her son, the future King Louis the Fourteenth. The Queen had endured twenty-three years of a childless and difficult marriage, and she viewed the arrival of her son as a divine miracle. She laid the foundation for this royal abbey to serve as a sanctuary and a lasting testament to that answered prayer.