Îlot Saint-Michel (Saint Michael Island; ) is an uninhabited island in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

off the coast of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor ( , ; ; , ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord until 1990 (, ), is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.Sables-d'Or-les-Pins. It is part of the commune of Erquy and is accessible by foot during low tide. Located on the island is a small chapel, La Chapelle Saint-Michel de Rochecoul. The late 19th-century chapel replaced earlier structures that have been on the island since the Middle Ages, and was completely renovated in the 21st century. The chapel is a place of pilgrimage for locals each 29 September for the Feast day of Saint Michael.

Toponymy

The island takes its name from the chapel dedicated to the

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

. According to local mythology: in the ancient time when the island was connected to the mainland, the devil was traveling nearby and Saint Michael wanted to stop him. The devil decided to pursue the saint himself and followed him. The archangel walked towards the sea, and when he arrived on the furthest point of the land that forms the island today, he looked back and stamped his foot. The land split and the sea poured in, and the devil and his

imp IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Music * IMP (band) a Japanese boy band Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The L ...

s were dragged into the sea. Since then, the devil no longer came to earth. In memory of this miracle, a chapel was later built on the island and dedicated to Saint Michael, at which time the island rock turned red. An alternate version is that the rocks turned red when Saint Michael stamped his foot on the ground.

History

The original church was founded by

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monks of the . The first mention of the island was in 1249, when a wealthy woman named Haîssa bequeathed 12 deniers to the church on ''Roche au Nai'' (Nai Rock). Over time the chapel became the property of the local municipality. In 1640, the rectors lobbied for the chapel to be returned to the monks. In 1725, the rector wrote: "There is a chapel under the invocation of Saint Michael three-quarters of a league from town, built on a rock out in the sea, whose passage is prevented by the tide, forcing the Bernardine monks to say Mass every year on the Feast of Saint Michael on the beach in a rocky area covered with a

sail A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...

. This puts the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in great danger of an accident. The monseigneur forbade them from celebrating Mass in the sail, however, it has always been continued in the same place by the religious." The rocks were later called ''les roches prêcheresses'' ("the preaching rocks"). In 1770, the island became communal property. Its last known inhabitant was a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

who lived there in the 19th century.

Chapel

The chapel is constructed of pink

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

in the gothic style. It survived the French Revolution and was included in the land registry of 1810. By 1879, the chapel was completely dilapidated. In 1880, the municipality, along with funds from a public subscription, raised money to build a new chapel. Designed by architect Jules Morvan of

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. History ...

, the chapel was blessed 9 October 1881. The steeple is topped with a cast iron statue of Archangel Michael slaying the devil. During the

German occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

in World War II, the church was unused, as landmines in the dunes made it too dangerous to access. A German shell fired during a military drill struck the steeple of the chapel and caused it to collapse. It was rebuilt after the war, and worship at the church resumed for a while. Within a few years it fell into disuse, and was only used by fishermen seeking shelter in bad weather. A statue of Saint Michael, the furniture, and even the door were all stolen. During the Great Storm of 1987, gale-force winds knocked the steeple over again, breaking the wings of the Archangel Michael. The city repaired the damage but still the chapel was only used for shelter for fishermen. The chapel underwent a massive renovation in 2002–04, sponsored by the "Friends of the La Chapelle Saint-Michel" Association, with the financial support of the commune of Erquy, the General Council of Côtes-d'Armor, the

Regional Council of Brittany In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), an ...

, and the Langlois Foundation. A team of volunteers helped pull 15 tons of material to the top of the island via boats. Nearly 1,000 people came out for Feast day of Saint Michael 2003 with an outdoor Mass and a procession to the church. In addition to the annual Feast day of Saint Michael in September, a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

is held every August, featuring an outdoor mass in the morning followed by a procession to the chapel and a picnic.

Photos

File:Ilot Saint-Michel.jpg, The island seen from the shore File:Ilot_Saint-Michel_Tidepools.jpg, Tidepools File:Ilot_Saint-Michel_Chapel.jpg, La Chapelle Saint-Michel File:Chapelle de l'îlot Saint-Michel.jpg, La Chapelle Saint-Michel

References

External links