THE CHAPEL OF THE CHARCOAL BURNERS

Description

A first wooden chapel, topped by a tiny bell tower, was built in 1860 by Jean-Nicolas Aiguier (the owner of the place) and a few local people on the Têtote, a small rocky hill at the entrance of the hamlet to ward off bad luck. At that time, the valley of the Charbonniers was very populated, but the population of the hamlet was far from the church of Saint Maurice. For this reason, Nicolas Aiguier thought about building a place of prayer and meditation, where people could sometimes hear the Mass. From the beginning, the chapel was placed under the protection of both St Nicholas, patron saint of Lorraine, and the Virgin, Our Lady of Consolation. This is why you can still see 3 other small wooden statues somewhat mutilated by time and unfortunately hidden by large plaster statues: St Nicholas lifting 3 fingers above the miraculous barrel and holding a broken cross, St Joseph, and the Virgin Mary. The chapel of St Nicholas - Our Lady of Consolation was blessed by Priest Claudel on 6 December 1861, the feast day of the patron saint of Lorraine. Mass was celebrated regularly on Sundays and feast days. The Feast of the Charbonniers was created after the war of 1939-1945 and celebrated for several decades on 15 August, the same day as the feast of the Virgin. On that day, a mass was celebrated in the chapel and outside, because the chapel was too small. In 1987, the chapel was revamped thanks to several local associations and a financial contribution from the land owners.