Eglise Saint-Sylvestre et son enclos paroissial

  • Historical sites and monuments
  • Calvary and parish nclosures
  • Church
  • Non listed
22420 Plouzélambre
This architectural ensemble is a parish enclosure. It includes a church, a fountain, an oratory, a calvary and an ossuary, all of which are listed as Historic Monuments.

The parish church in Plouzélambre is dedicated to Saint-Sylvestre. Sylvester, the 33rd pope, is reputed to have converted Emperor Constantine 1 to Christianity. When he was baptised by Pope Sylvester, the emperor is said to have been immediately cured of the leprosy that was eating away at him.

The church has a 15th-century flat chevet with a flamboyantly infilled bay window and a 16th-century nave with six bays and side aisles. The nave's large arcades are in tiers-point on octagonal piers. One of the two porches (16th century) is topped by a ‘secretariat’.
A small bell tower dominates the 1753 bell tower-wall. Inside, the baptismal font, decorated with gadroons, dates from the 16th century. The high altar, pulpit and lectern in the shape of an eagle date from the 17th century.
To the south-east of the enclosure, a granite calvary marks the entrance to the sacred space. This aedicule dominates the field of the dead. It was probably built at the same time as the church, and seems to predate the church enclosure that surrounds the placître and defines the boundaries of the cemetery. The churchyard was not transformed into a cemetery until the 17th and 18th centuries.
The cross at the top represents four scenes:
- to the north, the Virgin and Child ;
- to the north, a Virgin and Child ;
- to the east, Saint Sylvester as a pope. At his feet is a dog (just like Saint Gildas, his brother, who was reputed to cure rabies according to a story told by Anatole Le Braz);
- to the south, the Crucifixion: Christ is shown dead on the cross;
- to the west: Pietà or Virgin of Pity, the Virgin Mary as Mater dolorosa, a mother weeping for her child, whom she holds on her lap.

As a general rule, ossuaries are built to the south-west of the enclosure, as here in Plouzélambre.The ossuary is also called a ‘reliquary’ and was used to store bones.Probably dating from the second half of the 15th century, it can be considered one of the oldest in Brittany, along with the one at Lanvellec. It was restored in 1994-1995.

During the 17th century, the churchyard was gradually transformed into a cemetery.The relics of the deceased were regularly removed from the cemetery and placed in the ossuary. This practice made it possible to bury new deceased in the church or in the cemetery.
According to local history, the Saint-Sylvestre fountain and oratory in Plouzélambre were built as a result of a rivalry between two lordly families, one living in the manor of Kervégan to the west and the other in Kerbavé to the east. This fountain, built by the lords of Kerbavé, probably dates from the second half of the 16th century and was used as a place of pilgrimage for people suffering from leprosy and other skin diseases.

The Plouzélambre pardon takes place on the 1st weekend in August.

The parish enclosure is always open and the keys to the church are available to visitors on the days and during the hours when the town hall office is open, in exchange for proof of identity. Visits are available on request.

Openings

Openings

Monday
08:30 - 12:30

Tuesday
08:30 - 12:30
13:00 - 17:00

Thursday
08:30 - 12:30

Friday
08:30 - 12:30

Saturday
09:00 - 11:00

Tuesday
08:30 - 12:30

Wednesday
08:30 - 12:30

Thursday
08:30 - 12:30

Saturday
09:00 - 11:00

Monday
08:30 - 12:30

Tuesday
08:30 - 12:30
13:00 - 17:00

Thursday
08:30 - 12:30

Friday
08:30 - 12:30

Saturday
09:00 - 11:00

Location

Location

Eglise Saint-Sylvestre et son enclos paroissial
22420 Plouzélambre
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