Chapelle Saint-Avoye

In the Saint Avoye chapel, you can discover the legend of Ursula, who overcame her sickly fear thanks to Saint Ursula.

The Chapelle Saint Avoye was built in 1550 in Saint-Rémy-en-Mauges, at the crossroads of the routes du Chapitre, du Perray, du Coudray and de Rochard, to fulfil the wish of the young Ursule Megret, miraculously cured of her sickly fear.

Legend has it that on 24 December 1544, Ursule MEGRET, daughter of the nobleman Pierre MEGRET and Jacquine VAIROUX, was born in Saint-Rémy-en-Mauges. Despite the care she received from her parents, Ursule would scream at everything she saw for the first time, and this fear would increase as night fell.

In the autumn of 1549, Ursule was about to turn 5, and no doubt because of her constant fears, she did not grow up. Her mother spoke at length with a noblewoman, Dame de Bazouge, owner of Plessis Clairembault, and the Baron de Bohardy. They both advised her to take the little girl to the oldest canon of Saint-Rémy-en-Mauges. The very next day, Ursule and her parents went to see the chaplain to ask him for a solution to her problem. The old priest advised them to make 9 pilgrimages to the Plessis Clairembault chapel.

On her way back from the 8th pilgrimage, on a very dark night, at the junction of several paths (where the chapel now stands), Ursule shuddered and began to cry, shouting: "Oh, the big beast! Mummy, I'm going to die! A wolf with two blazing eyes stood ten metres away from them, and they quickly ran off. The 9th pilgrimage had not yet passed, and it had to be carried out for the wish to be granted. Ursula thought that by building a chapel at this crossroads, her fear would disappear: "I thought that there might be a Saint in heaven with a name like mine, and that if we built a chapel where the wolf was, we would put her statue there. If Saint Ursula wasn't afraid to stay there alone, then I won't have any more scares, I promise!"

A chapel was then built, with a statue of Saint Ursula and a portrait of the young Ursula on the other side.

In 1989, a local association was set up to restore the chapel, look after its upkeep and bring it back to life.
Stained glass windows installed in 1994 tell the story of this chapel, restored by the people of Rémy.
In 1995, the association decided to broaden its remit to include local heritage features, hence its current title: "Association des Amis du Patrimoine" (Friends of Heritage Association). It continues to pay close attention to the conservation and upkeep of religious buildings, calvaries, etc., in order to maintain the heritage left by previous generations.

> You can contact Les Amis du Patrimoine for a free guided tour of the chapel.
> A booklet is available on site to help you find out more about the history and legend of Ursula.
> The chapel is accessible to people with reduced mobility.