Chapel Saint-They, Gothic chapel at Pointe du Van, Cléden-Cap-Sizun, France
Chapel Saint-They is a chapel on the cliff edge between the Baie des Trépassés and the Pointe du Van in Cléden-Cap-Sizun, Brittany. It has a three-aisled nave, a rectangular choir, a west gable and bell tower dated 1674, and a grey slate roof. The carved wooden high altar, made by Jean Le Masson in 1632, came from the parish church of St-Clet.
The chapel's core is a late Gothic building of the 16th century, extensively rebuilt between 1612 and 1674: the east gable is dated 1612, the choir was added in 1636, part of the walls bears 1668, and the west gable and bell tower date from 1674. It was restored in the 19th century and again from 1997. It has been classified as a monument historique since 1914.
Only one pardon survives today: the grand pardon on the first Sunday of July. Processions from Île-de-Sein, landing at Vorlen, and from Cléden met along the cliff, their crosses were embraced, and both groups walked together to the chapel, where the crowd camped overnight. A verse of an old Breton hymn asks that the chapel stay standing so Saint They may watch the boats pass.
The chapel stands on the cliff edge between the Baie des Trépassés and the Pointe du Van, reached on foot along the coastal path. A member of the Sant They Ar Van association keeps the reception open every day, so the building can normally be entered. The enclosure walls and the truncated 1772 cross stand outside; the fountain dedicated to Saint They lies further on toward the Baie des Trépassés.
The chapel's bell came from the chapel of Langroas, near the village of Brézoulous in the same commune, through an exchange between the two chapels. Local tradition holds that the bell rings by itself to warn boats of approaching danger and urge crews to place themselves under the saint's protection.
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