Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Oiseaux de l'île de la Possession, Catholic chapel in Alfred Faure, Crozet Islands, France.
The Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Oiseaux is a small rectangular chapel measuring 4 by 3 metres, built below the Alfred Faure base on Possession Island and facing Île de l'Est. Its walls are white and its roof is flat sheet metal; a narrow bell tower with a brown four-sided pointed roof stands at one end. Inside, the walls are lined with vertical honey-brown wooden planks.
Construction of this chapel began in 1984 following the death of a young ornithologist in the archipelago. It was built as a memorial for those who perished in this remote location.
The east-facing wall shows a fresco of the Virgin Mary with open arms, with two courting albatrosses beside her, showing how faith and wildlife connect here.
Reaching this chapel requires coordination with scientific expeditions to the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, as the location has no regular transportation connections. Visitors need to plan well in advance and be prepared for severe weather and remote island conditions.
The 1997 TAAF stamp (5.20 F) shows a general view of the chapel facing Île de l'Est plus a detail of the wooden bell tower, which a December 2013 storm later destroyed; the metal replacement went up on 19 August 2014.
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