Just a few kilometers from Ciney, in the peaceful village of Conjoux, lies a spiritual and unusual site: the Conjoux grottoes. This open-air sanctuary, completely free to visit, features no fewer than eighteen artificial grottoes depicting key moments in the life of the Virgin Mary. A genuine religious curiosity, this sculpted ensemble was one of Wallonia’s major pilgrimage destinations in the early 20th century.
Galerie photos
Marc Ryckaert (MJJR), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A project born from a pilgrimage
It all began at the end of the 19th century, when Abbé Elisée Laloux, the parish priest of Conjoux, returned deeply moved from a trip to Lourdes. Wanting to offer a place of prayer to those who could not afford to travel to the French sanctuary, he decided to recreate the famous Grotto of Massabielle in his own village. The first grotto was built in 1880, and the project quickly expanded.
Eighteen grottoes and more than one hundred statues
Between 1887 and 1893, Abbé Laloux had seventeen additional grottoes built along a crescent-shaped pathway, forming what is still known today as the Rosary of Conjoux. Each grotto illustrates a mystery of the Rosary through full-size plaster statues, carefully molded and painted. In total, more than one hundred figures bring this remarkable spiritual trail to life, designed to accompany processions and the recitation of the rosary.
An overlooked site worth rediscovering
Until the Marian apparitions of Beauraing in 1932, Conjoux was the most visited sanctuary in the Diocese of Namur. Tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered there every year. Today, although less known and sometimes showing signs of deterioration, the site remains accessible and offers a walk that is both peaceful and meaningful. It is a perfect destination for a free outing combining spirituality, heritage, and architectural curiosity.
