




The Saint-Sauveur Chapel is a Catholic church. As the date under the small bell tower of the chapel indicates, it was built in the 19th century, near the beaches.
The history of the Saint-Sauveur chapel begins with a legend.
According to Kemmerer, in 596, a great lady of Spain saw the ship on which she was sailing slumped on the rocky banks of Sainte-Marie by the violence of the storm. Having been rescued alive from the angry waves, she bent her knee on these sandy moors and had a chapel built for the Savior of the shipwrecked.
Like many regional legends of a religious nature, this story appeared after the Revolution when it was necessary to win back souls and consciences.
The reality is a little more pragmatic.
The first mention of a Saint-Sauveur priory appears in 1236.
In 1292, two monks and a prior lived there.
Like the church of Saint-Barthélemy in La Rochelle and the church on the island of Aix, Saint-Sauveur depended on the Cluny congregation and corresponded to the great movement of conquest of the medieval abbeys.
As on the nearby mainland, the priory was established on the edge of the sea on the tip of a rock (the sea then penetrated deeply into La Noue) and was visible from the ocean. The importance of the establishment is unknown, but the priory remains modest and will only ever house a few monks. The thirty or so sarcophagi unearthed in 1907 in a plot of land to the west of the priory bear witness to this.
Saint-Sauveur then owned properties in the vicinity, but also at the tip of the old Île de Ré (exit from La Couarde towards Ars). At the end of the 15th century, these lands were the object of a conflict with the abbey of Saint-Michel en l'Herm (Vendée), owner of the islands of Ars and Loix. They even went so far as to set up a "pal" (a milestone) at sea to delimit the respective fishing zones and the related rights.
In 1575, the priory was ravaged by the Protestants and then seemed to be abandoned.
In 1618, the bishop of Saintes ordered that the chapel be rebuilt. This order was never carried out and the ruins remained until the Revolution.
On April 1, 1838, a new chapel (the present building) was consecrated on the old foundations. The building was restored in 1912 and a stained glass window was recently installed in the choir.
Under the old regime, the chapel was the object of a very important pilgrimage, on August 6.
People came from all over the island, but also from the mainland. The procession starts from the parish church and goes to Saint-Sauveur.
Abandoned in the 18th century, the celebration of August 6 was re-established with the restoration of the chapel. The blessing of the sea, not mentioned before this date, appears then. Very quickly this festival and the ceremonies that accompany it find a considerable extent at the level of the Island. Today, for the village of La Noue, the feast of August 6 remains a particularly important event.
In 1975, the high altar, probably of Flemish origin, and the tabernacle were restored. A wrought iron door donated by Louis Dron, installed in 1990, allows one to admire this small and intimate chapel.
A few votive offerings recall the omnipresence of the ocean.
According to Kemmerer, in 596, a great lady of Spain saw the ship on which she was sailing slumped on the rocky banks of Sainte-Marie by the violence of the storm. Having been rescued alive from the angry waves, she bent her knee on these sandy moors and had a chapel built for the Savior of the shipwrecked.
Like many regional legends of a religious nature, this story appeared after the Revolution when it was necessary to win back souls and consciences.
The reality is a little more pragmatic.
The first mention of a Saint-Sauveur priory appears in 1236.
In 1292, two monks and a prior lived there.
Like the church of Saint-Barthélemy in La Rochelle and the church on the island of Aix, Saint-Sauveur depended on the Cluny congregation and corresponded to the great movement of conquest of the medieval abbeys.
As on the nearby mainland, the priory was established on the edge of the sea on the tip of a rock (the sea then penetrated deeply into La Noue) and was visible from the ocean. The importance of the establishment is unknown, but the priory remains modest and will only ever house a few monks. The thirty or so sarcophagi unearthed in 1907 in a plot of land to the west of the priory bear witness to this.
Saint-Sauveur then owned properties in the vicinity, but also at the tip of the old Île de Ré (exit from La Couarde towards Ars). At the end of the 15th century, these lands were the object of a conflict with the abbey of Saint-Michel en l'Herm (Vendée), owner of the islands of Ars and Loix. They even went so far as to set up a "pal" (a milestone) at sea to delimit the respective fishing zones and the related rights.
In 1575, the priory was ravaged by the Protestants and then seemed to be abandoned.
In 1618, the bishop of Saintes ordered that the chapel be rebuilt. This order was never carried out and the ruins remained until the Revolution.
On April 1, 1838, a new chapel (the present building) was consecrated on the old foundations. The building was restored in 1912 and a stained glass window was recently installed in the choir.
Under the old regime, the chapel was the object of a very important pilgrimage, on August 6.
People came from all over the island, but also from the mainland. The procession starts from the parish church and goes to Saint-Sauveur.
Abandoned in the 18th century, the celebration of August 6 was re-established with the restoration of the chapel. The blessing of the sea, not mentioned before this date, appears then. Very quickly this festival and the ceremonies that accompany it find a considerable extent at the level of the Island. Today, for the village of La Noue, the feast of August 6 remains a particularly important event.
In 1975, the high altar, probably of Flemish origin, and the tabernacle were restored. A wrought iron door donated by Louis Dron, installed in 1990, allows one to admire this small and intimate chapel.
A few votive offerings recall the omnipresence of the ocean.
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