History:
In 1454, while ploughing his field, a farmer discovered in the "ardille" (clay, a word that according to legend gave its name to Notre-Dame-des-Ardilliers) a stone statuette about thirty centimetres high representing a Pietà. The farmer took it home. Twice he discovered that the Pietà returned to its place of discovery, near a fountain that was already known for its healing properties. From that moment on, devotions developed around this statuette, which was placed in a niche under a stone arch.
Jean Olivier, Bishop of Angers, laid the foundations of the Notre-Dame-des-Ardilliers chapel.
Bishop Gabriel Bouvery, Bishop of Angers, opened the new church on 30 July 1553.
It was a place of pilgrimage. The fountain was said to perform miracles.
In 1614, thanks to the support of Marie de Medici, the management of the sanctuary was entrusted to the Order of Oratorians. In 1619, they settled in Ardilliers and founded a royal college in 1624. Louis XIII granted it the status of royal chapel and, from 1628 to 1643, the Oratorians built the buildings to the east of the chapel that would house their community, the classrooms and the students' dormitories. From 1634, Richelieu had a chapel built on the north wall of the chapel for votive and funeral purposes.
The chapel was closed during the Revolution. The Oratorian house became a barracks and the rotunda was converted into an ammunition store.
In 1796, the Sisters of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Providence opened a hospice there for the expelled. In 1798, the hospice became the property of the city of Saumur.
The chapel was put back into use in 1799, but was damaged by damp. From 1849, architect Charles Joly-Leterme began restoring the building. The Sisters of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Providence became the owners of the former Oratorian House in 1866.
During the Battle of the Cadets, in June 1940, the bombing destroyed the roof structures of the chapel and the Oratorian House. The vault of the nave collapsed. The buildings were restored between 1947 and 1957. The oak frame of the dome was replaced by a concrete shell to reduce the pressure on the walls. The Oratorian House was converted into a school in 1953.
In February 2025, a fire broke out.
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