Chapelle du Petit Saint-Céneri et fontaine miraculeuse

Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei

According to tradition, the monk Céneri (Serenicus), who had come from Italy, settled in the late 7th century in this bend of the Sarthe and founded there a hermitage that became a monastery; the Gothic chapel built in the 15th century is said to occupy the site of his shelter. On the opposite bank rises a spring said to have gushed forth at the spot where the saint quenched his thirst on arriving: its water is locally reputed to cure eye diseases, and people still came there in devotion in the 20th century. In the chapel, a stone statue of the saint is the object of a very much alive divinatory custom: young women stick a pin into the carved garment, and if the pin holds, marriage is promised within the year. A nearby granite slab, called the "bed of Saint Céneri", was used according to tradition to lay bed-wetting children on to cure them and to help young women conceive. The Romanesque church in the village, raised between 1089 and 1125 after the destruction of the 9th century and listed as early as 1886, preserves frescoes of the 12th to 15th centuries, including a protecting Virgin of Mercy. The village also tells of the miracle of the bees: raiders who came to plunder the church are said to have been set upon by a swarm and drowned in the Sarthe. The site, listed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France, nurtured in the 19th century a small school of painters drawn by the light of the valley. Please note: the details of the pin, the stone bed and the miracle of the bees come essentially from the village's official website, the sole source on these points; the existence of the chapel and the spring, on the other hand, is confirmed by Orne Tourisme.

Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei — Histoires et légendes (site officiel du village) ↗

Getting there : The village is 14 km west of Alençon by the D101. Park in the village and walk down towards the Sarthe: the chapel stands in the meadow beside the river, about 500 m away, and the spring rises on the opposite bank, facing the chapel. Grass path, closed shoes recommended; free access all year round.

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

Ambient sound