Chapelle de Penvern

Trébeurden

The story of the chapel of Penvern begins around 1300, when Cistercian monks from the abbey of Bégard established here a farm grange and a modest oratory dedicated to Our Lady — Itron Varia Gwir Zicour, "Our Lady of True Help" in Breton. The building visited today dates from the reign of Louis XIII, rebuilt in 1640-1646 with the help of the monks of Bégard and of local noble families, notably the Menguy-Trolong. Granite benches set outside once welcomed pilgrims who had come from afar for long services. The interior preserves a Baroque wooden altarpiece of 1666 and an altar painting by Thomas Leclerc (1661-1667), influenced by the Italian masters of the Renaissance such as Jacopo Bassano. According to tradition, several miracles attributed to Our Lady of Penvern were sung in the Breton gwerzioù ballads: a young paralysed shepherdess is said to have regained the use of her legs after a prayer, and three fishermen, captured by Barbary pirates, are said to have found themselves miraculously free after invoking the Virgin on a day of pardon. Restored between 2008 and 2021 thanks to the Association des amis de la chapelle (founded in 2006), Penvern remains today a living place of pardon, the Breton pilgrimage festival, open to visitors.

Getting there : free access; annual pardon

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound