The "glorious traveler" : St Foy's triumphal march from Rodez to Conques, or, The liturgical afterlife of two medieval reliquaries

The sealing of St Foy's relics in two medieval reliquaries and their subsequent placement in new protective shrines in Rodez on the 4th of October, 1878, initiated a long marathon of festivities dedicated to the saint. The celebrations culminated on Saturday and Sunday, the 12th and 13th of October, when a two-day long procession transported the martyr's remains from the Rodez cathedral back to the abbey church of Conques, covering a distance of circa forty kilometers. The article delves into contemporary programs and reports published in the Revue religieuse de Rodez et de Mende to reconstruct the itinerary of this well-promoted march, which manifests the success of the bishop of Rodez and Vabres, Joseph-Christian-Ernest Bourret's (1827–1896) fruitful campaign to resuscitate the cult of St Foy during his incumbency. In addition, it considers poems composed for the occasion by the local poet and priest Justin Bessou (1845–1918). Analysis sheds light on the soundscape of the procession and the liturgical afterlife of the newly restored medieval reliquaries of St Foy. It further reveals the sharply divided dynamic within French society in the early years of the Third Republic.