The cathedral is a national monument. It has been a centre of pilgrimage in its own right since before the time of Charlemagne , as well as being a stopover on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. It is the seat of the Bishop of Le Puy. The cathedral forms the highest point of the city, rising from the foot of the Rocher Corneille.
Constructed over centuries, it contains architecture of every period from the 5th century to the 15th, which gives it an individual appearance. The bulk of the construction, however, dates from the first half of the 12th century. A town called Anicium existed on the site since at least the 6th century. Fragments of Roman temple sculpture were reused in the walls of the cathedral, and Roman funeral monuments, and Paleochristian sculptures and other artifacts have been found nearby.
These fragments mention the name of an early bishop, Scutaire, and date from late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. They are now found in the Crozatier Museum in Le Puy. Documents from the period indicate that the early Christian church contained a celebrated image of the Virgin Mary and child, made of ebony. According to some sources, the statue was dressed in gowns made of gold and other precious fabrics. The cult of the so-called Black Madonna was found in many other French churches of the time and helped attract pilgrims.
The original statue was destroyed in during the French Revolution, but many illustrations of it still exist. It was replaced in the 19th century by a new statue, now on the altar. Beginning in the 10th century Le Puy became a major stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
A large number of chapels, convents, schools, and other religious institutions were founded around the cathedral as a consequence of the pilgrimage. The new cathedral and its cloister were built close to the old church, at the highest point in the town, next to a massive rock butte, the Corneille.
