Cave of Saint - Honorat - Estérel

This oratorio was the hermitage of Saint Honorat.

Inside the cave you will find a small altar , often decorated with candles, statues of the Virgin Mary, religious symbols (crucifixes, ex-votos). Visitors sometimes leave stones, notes or flowers there — as personal prayers or expressions of gratitude.

The cave is not a chapel dug out but a natural cavity in the volcanic rock of the Estérel massif. Centuries of erosion have created a sheltered opening, just large enough to stand and sit upright in.

Born in 355 in Toul, he comes from Gaul, also called " Belgium ". While he was on a pilgrimage to Palestine in 373 , his elder brother " Venance " died in Greece . Demoralized and sick, he gave up his journey and returned to Italy and then to Provence. He was welcomed in Fréjus by bishop " Léonce ", who advised him to seek a secluded refuge, because he was already famous and therefore had too many problems. In 375, he settled under the Mont Cauroux " (later transformed into " Pic du Cap Roux ").

More poetic is the legend told around 1245 by the troubadour monk Raymond de Féraud (born in Nice) in his " Vida de Saint HONORAT ":

"... the future saint, accompanied by his spiritual father Saint CAPRAIS, who feared neither the cold nor the north wind, set out for the mountain, along the "Maure" ( the wild and dark forest ). In the morning they arrived at the beach of Agaï and begged Jesus Christ for help in their research. A white she-wolf appeared with her cubs, who came forward and invited them to follow her. She led them along the Refteu (the Rake) to a very large cave where a beautiful fountain sprang up..." . A priori he chose a smaller cave just above, more remote and more difficult to access, but with a beautiful platform with a wide view.

willem vandenameele