Brittany

:This article is about the historical duchy and French province, as well as the cultural area of Brittany. For the current French administrative region of Bretagne, see Bretagne. For other meanings, see Brittany (disambiguation).

Religion

The first Christian missionaries came to the region from Ireland and Great Britain. With more than 300 "saints" (only a few recognized by the Catholic Church), the region is strongly Catholic, and influenced by earlier pagan traditions. The proportion of students attending Catholic private schools is the highest in France. As in other Celtic countries, the legacy of Celtic Christianity has left a rich tradition of local saints and monastic communities, often commemorated in placenames beginning Lan, Lam, Plou or Loc. The patron saint of Brittany is Saint Anne, the Virgin's mother. But the most famous saint is Saint Ivo of Kermartin ('saint Yves' in French, 'sant Erwan' in Breton), a 13th-century priest who devoted his life to the poor.

Related Topics:
Ireland - Great Britain - Saint - Catholic - Pagan - Celtic Christianity - Patron saint - Saint Anne - Ivo of Kermartin - 13th-century

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Once a year, believers go on a "pardon", the saint's feast day of the parish. It often begins with a procession followed by a mass in honour of the saint. There is always a pagan side, with some food and craft stalls. The three most famous pardons are :

Related Topics:
Feast day - Parish

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• from Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, where a poor farmer in the XVIIth century assured the saint give him the order to build a chapel in her honour.
• from Tréguier, in honour of St Yves, the patron saint of the judges, advocates, and any profession involved in justice.
• from Locronan, in honour of St Ronan, with a troménie (a procession, 12 km-long) and numerous people in traditional costume,

In Brittany, there is a very old pilgrimage called the Tro Breizh (tour of Brittany), where the pilgrims walk around Brittany from the grave of one founder saint to another. The seven founder saints of Brittany are:

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• St Pol Aurelian (sant Paol), at Saint-Pol-de-Leon,
• St Tugdual (sant Tudwall), at Tréguier
• St Brieuc (sant Brieg), at Saint-Brieuc,
• St Malo, at Saint-Malo,
• St Samson of Dol (sant Samzun), at Dol-de-Bretagne
• St Patern, at Vannes
• St Corentin (sant Kaourintin), at Quimper

Historically, the pilgrimage was made in one go (a total distance of around 600 km). Nowadays, however, pilgrims complete the circuit over the course of several years. In 2002, the Tro-Breizh included a special pilgrimage to Wales, symbolically making the reverse journey of the Welshmen Saint Paol, Saint Brieuc, and Saint Samson.

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