CHAPELLE NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA-SALETTE

In tribute to his grandfather, who had built a small edifice dedicated to his son who had returned from the Italian wars during the First Empire, Abbé Pierre Vincent erected the present chapel in 1870. Its original function as an ex-voto may have been transposed, in the hope of the families of soldiers sent to the front, but also as a memorial to the soldiers who died in the war as a memorial to the soldiers shot during the Vendée War in 1793. Owned by the Diocesan Association, the chapel is built in the neo-Gothic style. The presence of a sculpted group of Notre-Dame de la Salette evokes the apparition of the Virgin Mary to two children at La Salette-Fallavaux (Isère) in 1846, a frequent feature of late 19th-century religious decor. In Mauges-sur-Loire, another chapel bears this name at Mesnil-en-Vallée. Generally speaking, the second half of the 19th century saw a meteoric rise in devotion to the Virgin, and Marian worship was already very present in Le Marillais, which is said to have witnessed an apparition of the Virgin in the 5th century, giving rise to the annual Notre-Dame l?Angevine pilgrimage. The chapel is included in the "Welcoming Churches of the Mauges" tour program. Information is available near the building for visitors.