For several millennia, the summit of Mount Saint Sabin, rising to an altitude of 1,120 meters, has held several significant roles and functions in the lives and memories of the region's inhabitants.
1. A place of refuge and prayer
The Refuge
In troubled times (the "lost times"), the populations living on the heights of the Pilat range needed protected sites. Some of these sites first became places of pagan, then Christian, worship. This was the case for Mount Saint Sabin: its elevated position offered a 360-degree surveillance panorama, facilitating isolation and defense. Defensive walls, of which remains have been found, once reinforced these natural protections.
Prayer
The remains of an altar in the form of a raw rock (measuring 1.30 m in height and width) bear witness to the presence of early worship. This stone features a 30 cm long triangular cupule on its surface. Was it a sacrificial stone or a place of miraculous healings? The question remains open. Small crosses engraved on some rocks seem to indicate the purification of the site when it was annexed by the Church, as new religions often chose to reclaim old pagan sacred sites.
2. The traditional pilgrimage
Pilgrimage to the summit has been known for many centuries in the form of a popular and religious tradition. The oldest known written record dates back to 1421: it mentions animal tolls during the Pentecost pilgrimage or "réméage".
For several days, priests officiated in the summit chapel. The final ritual stop before the final ascent to the summit was a halt at the Saint Sabin farm-inn (the current Auberge Vert Ânes), where humans and animals rested. Pilgrims came to eat and venerate the saint's relics kept in the back room before making an offering.
Once they reached the summit plateau, everyone picked a sprig of alpine lady's mantle (the "saint's herb"). This bouquet was rubbed against the feet of the statue of Saint Sabin and then blessed by the priest, granting a whole year of protection to the herds.
3. The martyrdom of Saint Sabin
The account of his martyrdom was gathered by Cardinal Baronius and Bishop Quilin, appearing in the Roman martyrology.
Saint Sabin, a very eloquent bishop of the city of Spoleto in Tuscany, was arrested with his deacons by Venustian, the local governor. Having refused to submit to the worship of an idol of Jupiter, which he threw to the ground and shattered, he was condemned to have his hands cut off.
Imprisoned, he miraculously restored sight to the nephew of a Christian widow named Serene. Dazzled by this miracle, Governor Venustian (who was himself suffering from an eye condition) begged the saint to baptize him and his family, and immediately recovered his sight.
Emperor Maximian, informed of these conversions, ordered the execution of Venustian and his family. Saint Sabin was tortured and died on December 17, 301 (or 303). He was buried by the widow Serene, who took care to collect his severed hands and preserve them in a glass vase.
4. Statues and representations of the worship
Local devotion to Saint Sabin has historically materialized around three popular art statues:
- Two wooden statues coated with plaster and painted in polychrome. They stood in the summit chapel, on either side of the main altar. On these, the saint is depicted with both hands.
- A third colored wooden statue, showing the saint with severed hands. This one was kept nailed to the family sideboard in the living area of the Saint Sabin farm-inn (built in 1667 and expanded in 1832). The owner of the farm, nicknamed "the abbot" because he held the keys to the chapel, was a direct descendant of the famous local healer Laurent Odouart.
After the renovation of the farm-inn in 2011, the municipality of Véranne took charge of the statues. They are now preserved and exhibited to the public inside the parish church of Véranne.