La Chapelle Saint Joseph du Chêne

Admire this chapel, part of which is built into the top of a pedunculate oak, undoubtedly one of the oldest in the world.

Villedieu-la-Blouère boasts a chapel and a remarkable oak tree, estimated to be 2,000 years old.

In 1856, Father Louis Lamoureux suggested to Abbé Peltier, the first parish priest of Villedieu-la-Blouère, that a statue of Saint Joseph should be placed in the trunk of the remarkable oak, as it had a deep cavity.

During the first pilgrimage, organised in 1856, a statue was placed on a granite altar:
"On 24 August 1856, the young parish of Villedieu-la-Blouère worshipped Saint-Joseph-du-Chêne, a thousand-year-old tree with a monumental trunk, hollowed out by time, at the heart of which was placed a statue of Saint Joseph, the patron saint of the town's craftsmen. The modest altar was replaced by a chapel, inaugurated on 26 August 1859. Due to the large number of pilgrims, a second chapel was added to the first and consecrated in 1871.
Source: Arbres remarquables en Maine-et-Loire, published by CAUE 49.

The following year, a small brick oratory was built around the cavity of the old tree. A larger chapel was built between 1866 and 1869, with the help of the people of Villedieu-la-Blouère. It was consecrated on 30 August 1899. The same clergyman crowned the statue on 29 August 1906, in the presence of 25,000 people.

We invite you to push open the door of the chapel to admire the white stone statue of Saint Joseph with the Child God, gently asleep.

Find out more about Villedieu la Blouère and the Chapelle Saint Joseph written by Yves Naud by downloading the PDF.