Notre-Dame church, located in the village of Etables-sur-Mer, was part of the Beauport Abbey (Prémontrés Order), of which it was a priory-cure. The oldest parts of the church date back to the 13th century, and over the next five centuries the Premonstratensians enlarged it and turned it into an original building.
Among the church's highlights are the high altar in the choir (1770), made of white, green, pink and yellow marble, and the high altar of the Rosary (1841), painted to depict a scene with three schooners, the boats used to fish for cod off Iceland.
Also of note is Maria Santissima Bambina, a statue donated in 1919 by the Legris and Charreton families. It is a reproduction of the miraculous wax statue venerated by the Sisters of Charity in Milan. It represents Mary as a child. The swaddling clothes covering her are made of white silk trimmed with precious lace and the bib is made of fine pearls.
Finally, in 1930, Canon Le Goffic suggested demolishing the spire and building a concrete floor to support a statue of the Virgin offered by Mr Fricotelle, owner of the villa Le Caruhel. This cast-iron statue is three and a half metres high, weighs 1,800 kg and dominates the town of Etables-sur-mer.
Notre-Dame church underwent major restoration work in 2022. You can visit it using the heritage information sheet available from the Tourist Office.
The church dates from the 19th and 20th centuries.
It was built in granite in the neo-classical style.
The church was formerly dedicated to Notre-Dame de Bon Voyage. The travellers to be protected were probably fishermen embarking for long months to the unwelcoming regions of Newfoundland and Iceland.
In 1974, several of the church's furnishings were listed as Historic Monuments: the polychrome wooden statues of Saint Julien and Saint Clément from the 18th century, the votive boat from the late 19th century and the painting depicting the death of Saint-Louis, donated by the Duchess of Angoulême.
Also of note are the chapel of those lost at sea, the stained glass windows and the organ, inaugurated in 1985 and adorned with scenes painted on its shutters in reference to the sea.
Many votive offerings were stolen, and others moved to the chapel of St Gilles.
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In the middle of the 19th century, when cholera was raging in Etables, the parish priest promised his parishioners that he would build a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, should the epidemic cease. It was against this backdrop that the chapel of Notre-Dame-d'Espérance was built in 1850.
For half a century, the chapel became a place of pilgrimage for the Terres-Neuvas and the Islanders, the fishermen who left the port of Binic to fish for cod. From here, the fishermen's wives watched over the arrival of the boats returning from the Great Fishing. The interior of the building houses several ex-votos.
This private chapel is open during the day in July and August.
In which country is there a replica of the Chapelle Notre Dame d'Espérance?
In the United States!
A replica of the Chapel of Our Lady of Hope was built in 2008 in Felicity, in the United States, by Jacques-André Istel, an American of French origin.
He created a town in Arizona, named Felicity (his wife's first name was Felicia), of which he is the mayor.
This former paratrooper colonel has begun building a memorial for humanity.
His desire to build a sanctuary led him to recall the Chapelle Notre-Dame d'Espérance, which he saw during a visit to the Côtes-d'Armor region in 2004.
Fallen under the spell of its architecture, he decided to build a replica in his home town.
The chapel of Saint-Gilles, built in 1869, was once a stopping place for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. Situated in a pastoral setting in Ville Jacob, this chapel hosts a pardon every 1st Sunday in September.
Visits by appointment through the Association des Amis de la Chapelle Saint-Gilles: 06 75 29 85 55 / chapellestgilles@gmail.com
This granite calvary probably dates from the late 15th or early 16th century. Although this calvary is incomplete, the statuary includes sixteen figures. At the top (east side), there is a crucifixion scene: Christ surrounded by the Virgin Mary and Saint John and angels collecting Christ's blood.
At the foot of the cross stands a Virgin of Pity, sculpted in kersanton, surmounting the Offering Table. On the other side, a Virgin of Glory presents her Son: Saint Barbara is shown with the wheel recalling her martyrdom. At the corners of the base, four figures, probably the four Evangelists, hold phylacteries announcing the Word to the four corners of the world.
Two coats of arms, now faded, were carved in bas-relief. They probably represented the Nicol and Percevaux families, lords of the manor house in rue Louais, who probably commissioned the calvary.
The calvary was dismantled and hidden during the revolutionary period, then reassembled in its original location and restored in 1863 by Abbé Gicquel (the shaft dates from this restoration campaign). Listed as a historic monument in 1918, it was moved a few metres in 1986.
This calvary can be seen on the rue de Louais.
This granite and ashlar calvary was commissioned and donated in 1922 by Eugène Legris in memory of his wife, née Charreton (daughter-in-law of Oscar Legris 1844-1911), who died in 1921. It was sculpted by Yves Hernot and erected on 20 August 1922.
The artist's signature appears on the right-hand side of the plinth and the Christ on the cross is surmounted by a phylactery bearing the inscription INRI.
The calvary can be seen in the car park at the top of the Godelins beach.
This pretty cross was erected on 15 August 1918 and is a granite cross with a frame, decorated with a Pietà. It was sculpted by Baudrit, an architect in Portrieux, and commissioned by Mr and Mrs Oudshoorn.
It can be seen on the GR®34, above the Plage du Moulin, on the Chemin de la Colombière.
This cross was sculpted by Yves Hernot (like the Calvary of the Godelins) and was erected following a jubilee in 1875. It has a clawed base with a scalloped shaft (bevelled crenellated borders and lines).
Originally located at the entrance to rue Touroux, it was moved and reassembled in its current position during the second half of the 20th century.
Anne Thérèse Guérin (1798-1856), a native of Etables-sur-Mer, was a nun who founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Sainte Marie des Bois and was recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church. Known as Mother Théodore, she completed her novitiate at La Providence in Ruillé-sur-Loir (Sarthe), before taking over as headmistress of the Saint-Aubin school in Rennes. Around 1840, she went to the United States, to Indiana, where she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods: this congregation was dedicated to setting up schools and dispensaries for native Americans. She dedicated her life to improving the lives of others.
Saint Mother Theodore was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1998 and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.
Her birthplace is located in rue du Point du Jour in Etables-sur-Mer. It dates from the 17th century and was extensively remodelled in the second half of the 20th century. It can be visited on request, please contact us.
Binic-Etables-sur-Mer Tourisme
6 place Le Pomellec
22520 Binic-Etables sur Mer
Tel. 02 96 73 60 12
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday: 9.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5.30pm. Closed on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons
Closed on Saturday afternoons between November and February.