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Origin and history

The church Saint-Benoît de Saint-Benoît-des-Ondes, located in the heart of this Breton municipality, is a religious building whose current structure dates mainly from the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Its granite walls and its stone-cut bell tower, covered with slates, illustrate local architectural techniques. The nave, simple and flanked by two side chapels, ends with a flat bedside illuminated by side bays. This place of worship replaces a 12th century building, described as modest and old ("small, low, dark and poorly paved"), of which today only a granite altar stone remains, reused in the entrance.

The reconstruction of the church began around 1785, but the work was only completed in 1803, during the post-revolutionary period. The bell tower was completed in 1815. The building is dedicated to Saint Benedict, whose patronal feast was once celebrated on July 11, the day of the translation of his relics. Among the remarkable elements are a master altar decorated with a 17th century copy of La Cène de Philippe de Champaigne (1648), as well as a monumental granite bentier with a carved head.

The cemetery surrounding the church was transformed into a square in 1873, but a granite cross erected in 1713 remains on its southern flank. The church underwent two major restoration campaigns in 1874 and 1992. His furniture also includes an ex-voto representing a fishing boat, Sainte-Marie, showing close links between the local community and the sea.

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