Chapelle Notre-Dame des Chênes

“A sacred oak, a place of miracles,” the old woman whispered, her eyes fixed on the Chapelle Notre-Dame des Chênes. “That’s what my grandmother called it.” The Chapelle Notre-Dame des Chênes stands as a testament to faith and resilience. Its story, interwoven with legends and miracles, begins in the 17th century with a terrified count and a charging bull. Legend has it that Count Emmanuel-René de Faudoas-Averton, while provoking a bull, found himself facing certain death. In a desperate plea to the Virgin Mary, he vowed to convert and build a chapel if spared. Miraculously, the bull relented. True to his word, the count erected a small chapel on the site, marking the beginning of Notre-Dame des Chênes as a place of pilgrimage. The original chapel, built to honor the Virgin Mary under the title of Notre-Dame des Douleurs (Our Lady of Sorrows), soon became too small for the growing number of pilgrims. Its walls held the stories of those who sought solace and healing at the sacred oak where a miraculous statuette of Mary cradling the body of Jesus was placed. The 17th-century chapel witnessed the growth of a small hamlet around it, aptly named “village de la Grande Métairie,” providing shelter to the pious travelers drawn to Notre-Dame des Chênes. In 1774, a devastating hailstorm ravaged the surrounding area, destroying crops and homes, but miraculously stopped at the chapel’s edge. This event further solidified Notre-Dame des Chênes’ reputation as a place of divine protection. The French Revolution brought turmoil. The chapel was sold as national property, and the statuette disappeared. However, the story of Notre-Dame des Chênes didn’t end there. In 1860, the broken statuette was rediscovered in the ancient oak. Restored and returned to its place of honor, it sparked a renewed wave of faith and miracles. The same day the statuette was returned, a six-year-old girl, Louise Chadeau, suffering from dropsy, was miraculously cured. This was followed by another miracle in 1862, with the healing of Élise Rondeau, afflicted with incurable ulcers. These events led to the construction of the larger Chapelle Notre-Dame des Chênes we see today. Started in 1867, the new chapel, with its striking granite facade, was finally completed in 1899. The Chapelle Notre-Dame des Chênes continued to be a significant pilgrimage site throughout the 20th century. While its popularity has waned in recent times, it remains a place of quiet devotion, where the weathered oak, protected by a grille, still stands as a silent witness to centuries of faith and miracles.