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Origin and history

The chapel of the Crucifix is a Catholic religious building built around 1540 in the Croisic, in the Loire-Atlantique department, at the initiative of Raoul Karahès, a local shipowner. It is erected on a site where tradition places the baptism of the first inhabitants in the sixth century by Saint Felix, bishop of Nantes. This story is illustrated by a stained glass window of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy. Popes Clement VII (1534) and Paul III (1540) grant indulgences to the visitors and donors of the chapel, stressing its spiritual importance from its foundation.

Confiscated during the French Revolution, the chapel was transformed into a powder shop in the early 19th century. In 1858, Abbé Bigaré bought it back before giving it in 1863 to Baron Paul Caruel of Saint-Martin, on condition of restoring his religious use. The latter and his son-in-law, the Count de Partz, undertook major works: restoration of the structure (with carved engulants), addition of stained glass to the family arms, and return to the parish giron in 1912 thanks to the heirs of Partz.

Architecturally, the chapel is distinguished by its flamboyant gothic style, with a bedside with cut strips, gables in braid, and typical decorations (flowers, gargoyles). The west and north facade has basket-cove doors framed with pinnacles and ogival windows. Inside, the statues (Our Lady, Saint Felix, Saint Joseph) rest on recent consoles (2012), mixing plaster and terracotta. The stained glass windows, including that of Notre-Dame decorated with the coat of arms of the Caruel and Green families, testify to the restorations of the 19th century.

The chapel was listed for historical monuments in 1952, recognizing its heritage value. Its rare term "Crucifix" recalls an earlier commemorative cross, replaced by the current building. Today attached to the parish of Saint-Yves-de-la-Côte- Sauve (Diocese of Nantes), it remains a place of memory linked to the maritime and religious history of the Gueranda peninsula.

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