Chapelle Notre Dame des Buis
This chapel was built in 1827 in the place of a small shrine to house a statue found there by a shepherd...
A miller named Rouquette saw, one day while working in a coomb near the hamlet of Saint-Pierre, a stranger in full meditation who approached him, called him by name and, pointing to a crevice in the rock, said to him: "There is hidden a treasure!", then he disappeared. The miller climbs up a ladder to the indicated place and discovers, in the middle of the box trees, a coarsely carved stone statue representing the Virgin Mary
The news spread throughout the town and soon there was thought of erecting an oratory on the spot, but when the statue had to be dislodged from the rock, it proved impossible to lift it. So a priest was brought in, and after paying pious homage to the Virgin, he managed to get it out of its hiding place.
The first oratory on the left bank of the Mardonenque became too narrow and a chapel was erected on the right bank of the stream, enriched with a piece of the True Cross brought from Rome.
The chapel, restored in 1987-1988, contains two paintings by the painter Roger Serpantié. Of very symbolist inspiration, they represent the devotion to the statue of Our Lady of Boxwood and its discovery in the rock thanks to the indications of an angel.
The statue, solemnly crowned in 1895 and registered in the inventory of Historic Monuments since 1986, seems to date from the 17th century, but its origin remains unknown to this day. Notre-Dame des Buis is supposed to relieve the ills of the infirm, but it is also used to ensure the happiness of children; this is why it is still the subject of a pilgrimage every year on the eve of August 15th.
