Pilgrimages Of Europe - Les Saintes Marie de la Mer, France

This is the story of the two Marys, the mothers of the disciples John and Jacob, whose boat was shipwrecked off the coast of southern France. They had fled by sea after being banished from Palestine. Their boat began to sink near this small town in the Camargue, where the river Rhone flows into the Mediterranean. According to the legend, Sara, a gypsy, watched from the beach as the boat foundered. She spread her cloak and both Marys safely reached shore. They told Sara of Christ's resurrection, and Sara asked the women to baptize her. Every year tens of thousands of gypsies from all over the world come here to worship their patron saint. In the morning they visit the crypt where the statue of Sara is displayed. Later in the day the statue is carried out to sea accompanied by a grand procession of gypsies.