Ancienne Chapelle des Dames-de-la-Foi, ou des Mirepoises
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ancienne Chapelle des Dames-de-la-Foi, ou des Mirepoises, located in Sarlat-la-Canéda (Dordogne), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.8903, 1.2181
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00082917
A vanished vestige of Sarlat, this 18th-century baroque chapel was home to the Dames de la Foi, a female order founded at the instigation of Fénelon to convert the young Protestant women of Périgord.
History
In the heart of Sarlat-la-Canéda, a town whose medieval streets seem to have frozen in time, once stood the chapel of the Dames-de-la-Foi, also known as the chapelle des Mirepoises. Although it was destroyed by fire in 1964 - the very year after it was listed as a Historic Monument - it remains one of the most remarkable reminders of religious and social life in the Périgord Noir under the Ancien Régime. What makes this building truly unique is the very nature of the institution it served. The Dames de la Foi were no ordinary contemplative order: they embodied a mission of religious conversion right in the heart of an area marked by the Wars of Religion. Their chapel, built at the turn of the eighteenth century, was both a place of prayer and a place of education, combining the sacred and the pedagogical within the same enclosure. Today, although the stones have disappeared in the flames, the memory of this building continues to irrigate the memory of the people of Sarlat. Local history buffs can find traces of it in the diocesan archives and the town's documentary holdings, where plans, engravings and period notes help to recreate the atmosphere of this unique place. Sarlat-la-Canéda, listed as one of the most beautiful medieval centres in France, also offers an exceptional setting for those wishing to immerse themselves in the religious history of Périgord. The chapel of the Dames-de-la-Foi was part of the dense network of sacred monuments that make the town an open-air history book, between the cathedral of Saint-Sacerdos and the lantern of the dead.
Architecture
The chapel of the Dames-de-la-Foi (Ladies of Faith) was part of the provincial Baroque religious architecture of the early 18th century, typical of the Périgord region in the post-Revocation era. Built from Sarladais golden limestone - the luminous blonde stone that gives the whole of the old town its remarkable visual coherence - it probably had a single nave, a sober façade embellished with pilasters and a moulded cornice, and a flat or slightly polygonal apse depending on local conventions. The interior, like many convent chapels of this period, combined architectural sobriety with a wealth of liturgical furnishings: gilded wooden altars, choir stalls, and probably a few painted or sculpted works linked to Marian devotion and the catechetical teaching dear to the Ladies of the Faith. The chapel also fulfilled a semi-public function, open to young girls under the supervision of the order to receive their religious training. Destroyed by fire in 1964, all that remains of the chapel today are iconographic archives and cadastral documents. Its location in the dense fabric of Sarlat's old town nevertheless bears witness to the importance attached to this order in the urban and spiritual organisation of the city in the Age of Enlightenment.
Related Figures
François de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon — évêque de Sarlat (1589-1639), initiateur de la fondation des Dames de la FoiMadame Baillot de Lagadou — veuve pieuse et fondatrice effective de l'ordre des Dames de la Foi au XVIIe siècleFrançois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon (l'archevêque) — illustre descendant du fondateur, auteur du Télémaque, dont l'ombre intellectuelle plane sur l'histoire familiale sarladaiseLes Dames de la Foi (Mirepoises) — religieuses enseignantes qui animèrent la chapelle jusqu'à la Révolution
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne Chapelle des Dames-de-la-Foi, ou des Mirepoises located?
Ancienne Chapelle des Dames-de-la-Foi, ou des Mirepoises is located in Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Ancienne Chapelle des Dames-de-la-Foi, ou des Mirepoises built?
Ancienne Chapelle des Dames-de-la-Foi, ou des Mirepoises dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne Chapelle des Dames-de-la-Foi, ou des Mirepoises open to visitors?
Ancienne Chapelle des Dames-de-la-Foi, ou des Mirepoises is currently closed to visitors.
