CHAPELLE SAINTE CLAIRE

The chapel was built around 1730 by the canons who lived at St-Mont and was dedicated to Sainte-Claire (the third abbess of St-Mont) and Saint-Romaric (one of the monastery?s founders). The chapel of Sainte-Claire disappeared during the French Revolution and was subsequently rebuilt near the St-Romary farm. According to various sources, Sainte-Claire was born around 600 and died between 652 and 665. Originally called Ségorberge, she presented herself as the daughter of Saint-Romary. She was the third abbess of Saint-Mont. According to legend, during the Laus Perenis, the continuous prayer, she prayed with such fervor that she wept. In the end, she lost her sight; from then on, she was called Cécile (for blindness). Later, during a walk on the Fossard estate, she went to refresh herself by a spring. Passing the water over her eyes, she regained her clear sight. From then on, she was called Saint-Claire. According to another legend, for her qualities of purity and exceptional tenderness, her companions nicknamed her "Clare". She had a gift for curing eye ailments, using water from the spring of the same name that flows at the foot of Saint-Mont.