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Origin and history

The Chapel Saint-Crépin d'Évron, located in the Mayenne department in the Pays de la Loire region, is a 12th century Romanesque building. Originally dedicated to Notre-Dame, it is joined to the north flank of the Benedictine Abbey choir of Évron, founded in the seventh century by Saint Hadouin, bishop of Le Mans. His current name comes from his adoption as boss by local shoemakers, who interpreted the patterns of the broken arches of his door as soles of shoes. The chapel, with a single nave of 27 meters long, is vaulted with ridges and decorated with 13th century murals, including a Christ in majesty in the abside.

The chapel is built on the wish of a pilgrims returning from Compostela, according to a tradition reported in the 12th century. It was initially isolated before being integrated into the abbey during the 13th century Gothic enlargement, which expanded the choir and created a communication door with the north transept. The first span of the chapel was transformed into a chapter hall in the 16th century, then a sacristy. Its decor, especially the broken arches, evokes rare Arab-Muslim influences in regional Romanesque architecture.

Ranked a historic monument in 1846, the chapel houses an exceptional religious treasure, including relics such as the milk of the Virgin, whose reliquary in vermeil (1516) is attributed to Simon Hayneufve. His major works also include a silver repulsed Child Virgin (15th century) and a statue of Our Lady of the Epistle (11th century), decorated with silver, enamel and precious stones. These pieces, exhibited at national events, bear witness to the spiritual and artistic influence of the abbey, linked to the founding legend of the pilgrim and the miraculous dawnhorn.

The chapel survived the looting of the Wars of Religion (1562, 1577), where the monks of Évron took refuge in the Château du Rocher with their relics. In the 17th century, the merchant abbot Claude Belot changed the conventual space by destroying the north side of the abbey, but the preserved chapel Saint-Crépin remained a place of devotion. Rediscovered during excavations in 1985, its high crypt (end of the 10th century) confirms its link with the re-foundation of the Abbey by the Viscounts of Maine, opposed to the claims of Counts of Blois via false charters in the 11th–13th centuries.

Today, the chapel is part of the Abbatial complex of Evron, which became a minor basilica in 1941. It houses four tapestries of Aubusson (17th century) depicting biblical scenes, as well as polychrome limestone statues and classified tombs. Its architecture, blending Romanesque and Gothic, and painted decor make it a rare witness to medieval art in Anjou-Maine, while its treasure and relics perpetuate the memory of Marian pilgrimages and the Benedictine community.

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