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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette de Roudouallec, located in Morbihan, replaces a 12th century building linked to a chaplaincy of the Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. It was built in the 16th century with a nave to the lower side, a transept and a polygonal choir, and then thoroughly redesigned in the 18th and 19th centuries. The western facade and bell tower, erected in 1772, date back to this period, as did the major restorations of 1729 and 1766.

The western gate, arched in a cradle and surmounted by a triangular pediment, illustrates the mixture of flamboyant styles (broken arches, oric columns) and neo-Gothic (hooked windows). Inside, masonry covers and broken arches of spans reveal successive campaigns, while elements such as a carved console or acoustic pots show medieval re-uses. The church houses an 18th century altarpiece and polychrome wooden statues from the 15th-17th centuries, some of which were stolen in 2014.

The building has been listed as a historical monument since 1930 for its hybrid architecture and hospital history. A multicentennial if, hollow and formerly associated with a statue or grave, thrones in the placister. The archives mention seigneurial rights exercised by the Commanders of the Order, such as Jean de La Barre (1540) or Leonor Beaulieu de Belthomas (17th century), confirming its anchoring in the Breton hospital network.

The 18th-century works, conducted under the priests Luc David (1766) and Yves David (1772), redefined the structure, with a redesigned frame and a rebuilt bedside. The bell tower, with double bunk rooms, dominates the village and bears the inscriptions of these priests. Survey documents (1705, 1731) describe its evolution, from a medieval basilical plan to the present church, without any interior padigeon to reveal its construction phases.

The flight of three statues in 2014 (saint Nicodemus, Saint Corentin, Notre-Dame de Lorette) marked his recent history. Despite these losses, the church retains classified furniture elements, such as 15th-17th century statues and a remarkable if, a symbol of continuity between the hospital past and the present community. Its placister, formerly a cemetery, still frames the building, a witness to its uninterrupted parish function.

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