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Origin and history

The chapel Notre-Dame de Béléan, located at the so-called "Béléan" in Ploeren (Morbihan), comes from a vow made by Jean du Garo. The latter, who survived with his squire of a captivity during the seventh crusade (1248), organized by Saint Louis to liberate Palestine, was allegedly imprisoned in a caisse by the Turks before being saved. As a thank you, he built a first chapel, now gone, whose ruins were restored in the 15th century. The present building, rectangular (18 m x 7 m), mixes large and medium apparatus, with Gothic elements such as ogival bays and a frame dated 1457.

The chapel bears the traces of its sponsors and benefactors. Above the northern gate, classified as a Historical Monument since 1925, are the coats of arms of the families of Garo (founder) and Pontsal (Yves de Pontsal, bishop of Vannes from 1444 to 1476). Inside, two wooden paintings depict John of the Garo and Saint Michael of Auray, while a 16th century stained glass window and fragments of coats of arms from the Kermeno of Garo adorn the bays. A tombstone, probably that of René de Kermeno, is embedded in the pavement. The frame, made by Jehan Thébaud in 1457 with wood from the Trebimoel forest, is a rare testimony of medieval know-how.

The devotion to Our Lady of Béléan continues until today, as evidenced by the candles lit and a book of pilgrims full of thanks (2016). The chapel, a communal property, was extended to the entire building in 2020. Its square bell tower, its hooks carved on the façade, and its entrances decorated with crocodiles heads illustrate a heritage that is both religious, seigneurial and artisanal. The site remains a place of recollection and memory, linked to the history of the Crusades and Breton architecture.

Sources also mention a possible confusion about the original name ("Our Lady of Bethlehem"), highlighting the symbolic links between this local sanctuary and the biblical or Oriental accounts reported by the Crusaders. The chapel is thus part of a wider network of Marian shrines in Brittany, while maintaining an identity marked by its family and military history.

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