Sainte Suzanne Chapel

The Sainte-Suzanne priory stands in the middle of a quiet setting in the eponymous hamlet located 6 km from the center of Les Baux-de-Breteuil.
According to legend, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Christians in the spiritual desert of Sainte-Suzanne, asking them to found the place located a few kilometers from the center of Les Baux-de-Breteuil. Saint-Melain, bishop of Rennes, died around 533, would have been the first founder of the hermitage of the Desert in the forest of Breteuil. It was also called Notre-Dame-du-Lesme.
Later, a man named Hugh had a church built there in 1125. The priory housed a community of hermits at the beginning of the 1794th century. The hermits of the Desert, not having a fixed rule, could not support themselves and the priory became a member of the abbey of Lyre. Benedictine monks then occupied the premises until the 1865th century, before the priory was sold during the Revolution as national property. In XNUMX, the Levacher d'Urclé family bought the chapel and the priory from the French Republic, thus saving them from destruction. The restoration of the chapel will end in XNUMX with Paul-Louis Félix Levacher d'Urclé and Madame de Bonald, his daughter, and a funerary mausoleum will be created for the members of the family.
Saint Suzanne was honored at the Priory of the Desert because of part of her relics which are kept there in a golden shrine and an equally golden arm. This is why we are used to giving it the name of chapel or priory of Sainte-Suzanne. Pilgrims came in droves until the 1960s.
The chapel became the property of the Houtart family in 1945. The Sainte-Suzanne association was created in 2015 to restore and renovate the old buildings of this place steeped in history.
The chapel contains a set of remarkable mosaics attributed to Charles Lameire. The Musée d'Orsay has parts of this large composition.
The crypt served as a cellar and wine cider for the monks. A source is also present there.
A bread oven was built in 1864 to supply a neighboring farm. It was restored in 2015.
Guided tours of the chapel and the crypt are offered all year round by appointment.

Spoken languages

• English
• Français

Ranking & labels

• Unclassified

• Average duration of the individual visit: 30 min

Equipments

• Free parking