Chapel Sainte-Foy of Montpellier, Baroque chapel in central Montpellier, France.

The Sainte-Foy Chapel is a baroque church building in central Montpellier with a simple exterior contrasting sharply with its ornate interior. Inside, visitors find carved sculptures, gilded woodwork, and a coffered ceiling decorated with 21 painted panels depicting scenes from scripture.

The chapel is first documented on 12 July 1228, though its construction probably dates to the 12th century; it stood on the Cami Roumieu, the Santiago de Compostela route, serving the Flocaria suburb. Huguenots burned it in 1562 and 1568, and the ruins served as an open-air cemetery for over fifty years. Bishop Pierre de Fenouillet returned the site to the White Penitents in 1623; rebuilding began at once and the chapel was consecrated on Christmas Eve 1624, then extended east over the former rampart and ditch.

The chapel is owned by the Confraternity of the White Penitents, who returned in procession in 1623 and planted a cross against the facade. The name Sainte-Foy refers to Saint Foy, and the building is still called the chapel of the White Penitents after the brotherhood. Each painted ceiling panel carries the coat of arms of its donor at the bottom, forming a small armorial of the 17th-century confraternity.

The chapel stands at 14 Rue Jacques Coeur, in the heart of Montpellier, and is open for visits on Saturdays and during special events such as Christmas. Look up in the street for the bridge-like arch, one of the last three pontets in the city, which belonged to Jacques Coeur's house. The painted ceiling is poorly lit and its varnishes have aged, so allow time to make out the panels.

The bell in the tower, cast in 1401, still rings; the bell tower itself was enlarged in 1627. The painted ceiling was only completed between 1671 and 1691, so the bell predates it by nearly three centuries.