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Origin and history

The chapel of Saint-Vellé de Gicqueleau, located in Folgoët (Finistery), has its origin in the legend of Saint Vellé (or Saint Quelleau), a Welsh hermit of the Ve-VIth centuries. This saint not officially recognized by the Catholic Church would have lived in the nearby valley of Toulran and built a first chapel on the present site. Invoked against headaches, he is represented on a stained glass window in the basilica of Folgoët. The present chapel, built between the 16th and 18th centuries, replaced an older building (IXth-Xth century) and served as a private chapel at the Manor of Guicquelleau.

In 1530, the chapel temporarily became the seat of the parish of Elestrec after the destruction of its church by lightning. The parish then took the name Guicquelleau, derived from the Breton guik (bourg) and gwelleo (saint Vellé). In 1675 major modifications were made, including a dome bell tower, a cemetery, an ossuary and a presbytery. The chapel was also home to the tombs of the Marc-hec family, the local lords, whose coat of arms (three-quintefeuilles d'or) still adorns the place.

In the 18th century, the parish of Guicquelleau had 900 communiants and was described by Jean-Baptiste Ogée as a fertile territory in grain, with few moors. In 1790 Guicquelleau was built as a commune, with an open school near the chapel. Too small to welcome the faithful, it lost its parish status in 1826 in favour of the basilica Notre-Dame-du-Folgoët. During World War II, the Germans installed a field hospital there in 1944, desecrating its graffiti walls. A pardon of reconciliation was arranged after their departure.

The chapel, which has been listed as historical monuments since 1975, preserves a high altar Louis XV, statues of St.Vellé and St.Marguerite, as well as a medieval calvary in monolithic granite. Its enclosure, restored in 2013, houses an educational garden and native plants such as the aubethorn or ash. Today, it no longer hosts regular Masses, but an annual pardon at the end of June and summer exhibitions organized by the association Arz e chapeliou bro leon.

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