Basilicas in France—Brittany

Cathedral Basilica of St. Corentin, Quimper, Finistere

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius IX in 1870.

The Basilica is the cathedral for the Diocese of Quimper and Leon.  St. Corentin was the diocese’s first bishop.  The Gothic church was built between the 13th and 15th Centuries.  Additional work and restoration were performed in the 19th Century.

The first picture is from TripAdvisor and the others from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Ann, Sainte-Anne-d’Auray, Morbihan

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius IX in 1874.

A chapel dedicated to St. Ann has been in this village since early times but was destroyed in the 7th Century.  St. Ann appeared to a local farmer in the early 17th Century commanding him to rebuild the chapel.  Many witnessed these apparitions, and the chapel was rebuilt.  The current Neo- Gothic Basilica was built between 1865 and 1872.

Pictures are from Sygic and Wikepedia.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Stephen, Saint-Brieuc, Cotes-d’Armor

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius IX in 1875.

The church is the cathedral for the Diocese of Saint-Brieuc-Treguier.  Brieuc came from Wales and became the first bishop for the Diocese in the 6th Century.  The current cathedral was constructed from 1180 until the mid-15th Century, often interrupted by wars and natural disasters.  Additional work was done in the 19th Century.

Pictures are from Wikipedia.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter, Vannes, Morbihan

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1886.

The Basilica is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Vannes.  The Gothic church was built from the 15th to the 19th Centuries to replace an 11th Century Romanesque church.  The 13th Century bell tower remains from the previous church.  St. Vincent Ferrer is buried in the Basilica.

Pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Bramble, Josselin, Morbihan

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1891.

The 15th Century Gothic church was built to house a statue of the Virgin Mary found in 808 by a local farmer in a bramble bush.  The church is a stopover on the road to Compostela, Spain.

The first picture is from Getty and the other two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Help, Guingamp, Cotes-d’Armor

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1899.

The church was built from the 12th Century to the 16th Century although restorations have taken place in almost every century.  It has long been a place of pilgrimage to venerate the Virgin Mary.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Paul Aurelian, Saint-Pol-de-Leon, Finistere

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1901.

The Basilica was once the cathedral for a diocese that existed from the 6th Century until 1801.  The church is named for the diocese’s first bishop.  The 13th Century limestone church replaced a 6th Century Romanesque church.  The existing church was completed in the 16th Century.  The church has 22 altars and the tomb of Marie-Amice Picard, a 17th Century mystic.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Hope, Saint-Brieuc, Cotes-d’Armor

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1902.

The Gothic Basilica was constructed between 1856 and 1877.

The first picture is from a local source and the second is from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Paradise, Hennebont, Morbihan

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius X in 1912.

The Gothic church was built in the 16th Century.  Much of Hennebont was destroyed by German bombing in 1944, but the church received little damage.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Holy Savior and Our Lady of Miracles and Virtues, Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XV in 1916.

The church was built in the 18th Century in a Classical style.  A church has been on this site since the 12th Century and miracles have been attributed to our Lady’s intercession.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Aubin and Our Lady of Good News, Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XV in 1916.

The Gothic-Revival Basilica was built between 1884 and 1904 to replace an older church that was torn down.  The church has long attracted pilgrims due to a 15th Century painting of the Mother and Child.  This was the parish church of Blessed Marcel Callo, killed by the Nazis during the Second World War for his Catholic beliefs.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Deliverance, Quintin, Cotes-d’Armor

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1933.

The basilica was built between 1879 and 1887 in a Gothic style.  The Basilica has a portion of a belt believed to have been worn by the Blessed Virgin.  It was brought here by a local lord in 1252 after the Seventh Crusade.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Tudwal, Treguier, Cotes’d’Armor

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1947.

The Gothic church was built between the 14th and 18th Centuries to replace a 10th Century Romanesque church.  The church was the cathedral for the former Diocese of Treguier which existed between 950 and 1801.  St. Tudwal was a missionary bishop in the area from Wales.  The Basilica is the burial site of St. Ives, a 13th Century priest and the patron saint of Brittany. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, La Guerche-de-Bretagne, Ille-et-Vilaine

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1951.

A Gothic church was built between the 13th and 16th Centuries and enlarged in the 19th Century.  Devotion to Our Lady at this location dates to the 10th Century—the current statue dates to the 17th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Holy Savior, Dinan, Cotes-d’Armor

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1953.

A Romanesque church was built on this site in the early 12th Century and greatly expanded in the 15th Century in a Gothic style.  Pilgrims have come to the church since the 15th Century because of a sculpture of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Joy, Pontivy, Morbihan

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1959.

The granite church was built in the 16th Century.  The main altar and pulpit are designed in a Louis XV style.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady, Le Folgoet, Finistere

Declared a minor basilica—see text.

The Gothic church was built between 1365 and 1423.  Legend has it that Pope Martin V designated the church a minor basilica in 1427, but there is no record of this.

The first picture is from Flickr and the others are from Wikipedia.