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Origin and history

The carillon du Mas Rillier is an octagonal belfry in reinforced concrete, built in the hamlet of Mas Rillier in Miribel (Ain). It houses a carillon of 50 bells, including a bell of 2,157 kg, entirely mechanical. This monument, unique in France for its architecture dedicated to a carillon, was inaugurated on 20 July 1947, well after the Virgin of Mas Rillier (1941), under the impulse of Abbé Thomas and designed by the Lyon architect Louis Mortamet.

The carillon itself, manufactured in 1938 by the Paccard foundry near Annecy, was first exhibited in Lille during the 1939 Exhibition of Social Progress. Faced with the German advance in 1940, he was dismantled and repatriated to Annecy. Abbé Thomas acquired it to equip the campanile under construction, and the bells remained hidden at Mas Rillier until the Liberation. The belfry, built between 1946 and 1947, was classified as a historical monument in 1993.

The carillon, of great musical richness, is used for regular concerts, especially at the Swing festival under the stars in June. Several famous carillonneurs have been succeeded since 1947, including Jean-Bernard Lemoine (1987-2005) and Chantal Bégeot (2005-2016). Access to the site is served by Line 1 of Colibri (Madone stop), and the monument remains a local symbol of religious and musical heritage.

The sanctuary of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, adjacent to the carillon, was founded in 1932 by Abbé Thomas on the ruins of an ancient castle. The carillon, the only one of its kind in France, illustrates the architectural innovation of the 20th century mixing reinforced concrete and campanological tradition. The bells, always mechanically operated, bear witness to a preserved craftsmanship.

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