Chapelle Notre Dame de Merquel

The word Merquel is a deformation of a word meaning "monastery".
The first place of worship in Mesquerais in the 6th century, the chapel of the priory of Merquel was dedicated to Saint Gildas and depended on the abbey of Saint-Gildas de Rhuys in Morbihan. However, given the rivalry between the Franks and the Bretons and the struggle of the bishops of Nantes to extend their jurisdiction to the Vilaine, it is not surprising that, to counterbalance the Breton influence, a religious building in honour of a French saint, in this case Saint-Marc de Soissons, was built very close to the convent.