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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Madeleine Chapel, located in Remiremont (Vosges), is a former leprosy founded in the 17th and 18th centuries on a site shared with Saint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont. It succeeded a medieval structure dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, patron saint of lepers, in accordance with the guidelines of the Third Lateran Council. The isolation of the sick was organized in the seventh century by Saint Romaric, Abbé de Remiremont, who installed cells for lepers.

Burned in 1645 during the wars, the leprosy was rebuilt thanks to Antoinette Maillot, widow of Adam de la Madeleine. The site, inscribed in 1944 for its landscape and in 1991 for its chapel, preserves medieval elements (XIIIth–XVth centuries) such as a bentier, a tombstone and 16th century stained glass windows. These remains illustrate its historical role in the fight against leprosy in Lorraine, a disease that decimated the local population (60 inhabitants in 1710).

Inside, a stone cross dated 1661, a altarpiece and busts of saints (including Saint Del and Saint Agathe) recall his religious vocation. The chapel, a communal property, opens only once a year for the feast of brioches. Its name continues in the landscape in the form of the Magdeleine, bearing witness to its medieval and modern heritage.

The site is linked to Remiremont Abbey, whose noble ladies managed charitable works. In 1724, the Duke Léopold of Lorraine attached to it the income of the leprosy to the hospital Saint-Maurice. The stained glass windows, studied by Michel Hérold and Françoise Gatouillat, and the statue of Marie-Madeleine (now at the Museum of the Image of Épinal) underline its heritage importance.

Archaeological and historical sources, such as the work of Bernard Puton (1983) or ancient postcards, document his evolution. Classified for its landscape in 1944 and protected as a monument in 1991, the chapel embodies the memory of the lepers and medical practices of Ancien Régime in Lorraine.

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