The Catherine Cross is a 16th-century painting cross, located in the village of Saint-Marcel, near the church. It was erected at its current location in 1924 after being found lying in a ditch on the old road of Serent. Its original barrel disappeared, and only the carved banner was preserved. It presents a semi-relief decoration carved in a monolithic block, with a face representing a Calvary (Christ Nimbé, Saint John and the Madeleine) and the other a Virgin with the Crowned Child, accompanied by Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint James the Major.
The cross was listed as historical monuments on 6 June 1933. Its current barrel, after 1984, replaces the original lost. The monument is now owned by the municipality of Saint-Marcel, in Morbihan. Its architectural style and sculptures reflect Breton Renaissance religious art, with an iconography typical of the monumental crosses of this period.
Originally located on an ancient path, this cross illustrates the importance of religious monuments in the organisation of Breton rural territories in the 16th century. These crosses often served as spiritual and geographical landmarks, marking roads or town entrances. Their sculpted decoration, like that of the Catherine Cross, had both a devotional and a pedagogical function for the faithful.
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