The Saint-Monon collegial church

The Saint-Monon collegiate church, its ancient churchyard and picturesque lane of linden trees planted in 1803, have all been listed by the Royal Commission for Sites and Monuments. The church underwent restoration works in 1948-49 and, according to the chronogram above the entrance porch, the current building dates from 1661. The choir and the apse are built in typical 7th century Romanesque style and the church nave was rebuilt in 1661. An educational board near the church entrance tells the story of the Holy Monon, a Scottish Monk who came to Nassogne to evangelize our ancestors around 600. Inside the church, you can admire the reliquary which contains the holy relics. Saint Monon is the Patron Saint of farmers who invoke his protection for their cattle and their crops. Each year (on the Sunday following Ascension), the reliquary is taken from the collegial church to the Saint-Monon chapel, during the procession that is locally known as the Procession des Remuages (i.e. ‘the riddling procession’). During the procession, the pilgrims, for the vast majority farmers, rub the shrine with handfuls of grass or shrub branches. The blessed crops are then fed to their livestock, in the hope that this will protect them from harm until the following year.