The Notre-Dame-de-Pitié church is a Catholic place of worship located in the town of Le Croisic, in the French department of Loire-Atlantique1. It is classified as a historical monument on October 25, 1906.
Presentation
This church, in the flamboyant Gothic style, is dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-la-Pitié. It is built in granite, its vaults are in limestone. It is asymmetrical, almost square in shape, with four naves with flat chevets and sixteen large ogival windows. The 19th century stained glass windows evoke the lives of saints, friends of god, the life of the Christian community of Le Croisic.
Historical
Construction work began on December 4, 1494, with the laying of the first stone of the church by Jacques Penfaut, bettor. On October 15, 1501, the sovereign pontiff allowed the inhabitants of Le Croisic to have it blessed and consecrated, to have a baptismal font there and to have the sacraments administered there. On March 25, 1507, the church was consecrated by R. Père en Mathieu de Pledran, bishop of Dol-de-Bretagne. In 1525, we proceed to the blessing of the building then barely completed, since it seems that the work is spread out until 1528. On August 23, 1528, the north door, called Baptistery, is finished by Robin, during that Jean Leroy is a bettor. The tower, begun on April 6, 1526, was completed around 1700.
From the time of construction, it seems that modifications were made to the building due to a change of party, with in particular the passage from three main naves to four with the addition of a second southern aisle. The stone bell tower was not built until the end of the 17th century, replacing a wooden spire, on the model of the recently built tower of the Saint-Guénolé church in Batz-sur-Mer.
During the French Revolution, the church was used alternately as a republican temple, an artillery store and a stable. In the middle of the 19th century, its general condition required numerous repairs which gave rise to major work campaigns on the roofs, the windows, or even the construction of the presbytery. Abbé Bigaré, parish priest from 1840 to 1879, had the church completely restored with the help of Henri Gilée, architect. On August 4, 1898, the high altar received a new consecration from the hands of Bishop Legal, auxiliary bishop of Saint-Albert, in Canada.
The church was classified as a Historic Monument on October 25, 1906 and throughout the 20th century, restoration work was undertaken on the windows, the stained glass windows, the bell tower and the covers. On June 13, 1963, the large glass roof of the choir of the church dating from the 15th century collapsed and destroyed in its fall the high altar and the floor. The new glass roof was erected in January 1967. The current altar, the large cross and the chandelier, made according to the plans of M Bué, architect in Saint-Herblain, were put in place during the year 1980. The substantial works undertaken for the 500th anniversary of the construction concern the southern roofs and the campanile located on the main ridge of the roof. The west canopy and the organ loft were also restored at the very end of the 20th century.
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The pulpit is raised and made of wood. For a better transmission of the language, it has a wooden roof on which an angel with a fanfare can be seen.
Lean-to and suspended preaching pulpit; staircase: lateral to the right, openwork turning; tank: hexagonal plan, base in right heel; crowning: in reversed heel, in network; depreciation statue. Waxed wooden chahire, without traces of polychromy. Polychrome coronation statue.