Around 1562, Charles de la Forest de Vaudoré, a Protestant lord of Brossardière, erected a sort of barn so that his co-religionists could have a place of worship. It is in this same temple that, on August 13, 1595, during the sermon, a massacre took place. While the French religious wars had just ended, a troop of 45 men-at-arms burst into the midst of the faithful and left behind 31 dead and 33 wounded. In 1791, the entire site was sold as national property to a certain Baudet de la Tardière. The wars of Vendée and the infernal columns did not spare the sanctuary in 1793, since in Jean Huet's pamphlet on Brossardière we can read this: "the chapel was completely uncovered, everything was burned there and the calcined walls fell in ruins". Despite the persecutions, the faithful continued to come there in secret, to venerate a small earthenware statuette. In 1824, by notarial deed, Etienne-Marie Giraud, owner at the time, gave what remained of the chapel to the town of La Tardière. The Parish Factory Council will then be responsible for carrying out the restorations. From 1836, Abbé Girond, who had just been appointed parish priest of La Tardière, endeavored to establish the customs of novenas. During the nine days following August 15 and September 8, crowds flock to the humble sanctuary. On some days, nearly 3,000 people flocked to the Brossardière pilgrimage.
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