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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The chapel Notre-Dame-de-Lorette de Sainpuits is a 16th-century building erected in 1525 by the Count of Saint-Fargeau. It is dedicated to Notre-Dame de Lorette and stands out for its equipment in varnished bricks decorated with diamond. Located in the centre of the village of Sainpuits, behind the parish church, it houses a Marian inscription engraved above the side door, as well as a bentier dating from 1643. Its simple, rectangular architecture contrasts with its marked spiritual role.

Between 1610 and 1754, the chapel became a place of devotion associated with "marital respite": newborns in danger of death, baptized in articular mortis, showed signs of life attributed to a miraculous intervention of the Virgin. This phenomenon attracted the faithful, especially the nuns of the region, many at the time. The chapel, listed as a historical monument in 1987, now retains its original enclosure and remains a testimony of local religious practices.

The chapel was also a place of pilgrimage for nurseries, a profession then widespread in this rural area of Burgundy. These women, often from modest backgrounds, sought protection for the children in their care. The building, owned by the municipality since its inscription, illustrates the importance of Marian cults in France of Ancien Régime, mixing popular devotion and modest architecture.

The protected elements include the chapel itself and its enclosure, as specified in the 1987 registration decree. The site, although of approximate location (level 5/10 depending on the sources), remains a point of heritage and religious interest, referenced in the Mérimée and Clochers bases of France. Its history reflects both local beliefs and the evolution of devotional practices between the 16th and 18th centuries.

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