Paray le Monial, in the department of Saone et Loire takes its name - "le Monial", or "monkish" - from the number of religious communities in the locality.
The town was originally established around a monastery, and is now the second most important destination for pilgrims in France, welcoming around 400,000 visitors a year.
This stems from the fact that in 1671 a certain Marguerite-Marie Alacoque entered into the monastery of the Visitation at Paray. She was later to be made St Marguerite-Marie due to the many visions of Christ she had during her life.
The spiritual importance of Paray was underlined by a Papal visit in 1986, and during the summer each year there are various major religious festivals involving more than 20,000 celebrants.
The town is worth visiting for its architectural as well as its spiritual riches, especially the town hall, a magnificent 16th century Renaissance construction with an ornamented and turreted facade.
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