CHAPELLE NOTRE DAME DE LA GOUTTE

La Goutte is a locality. One can imagine that it refers to a damp place where water drips down. In Montardit there is a curious little chapel built between 1968 and 2001 by the Abbé Jean-Marie Piquemal, son of farmers, born in 1924 in the hamlet of Massat. He learns very early to work hard. Each season had its own chore: planting potatoes, making hay, cutting wood... Ordained a priest in 1949, the abbot moved to Arnave near Tarascon where he discovered a small Romanesque chapel on the hillside, the interior of which he restored and decided to build a shelter for the so-called miraculous stone, reputed to heal epilepsy. Appointed to Montardit in 1951, he took over the pastoral care of six villages in 1964: Sainte Croix, Lasserre, Mérigon, Mauvezin, Montardit and Contrazy. After restoration work in the church of Sainte Croix, he began work on the chapel, collecting pebbles and stones from the surrounding area and hiring a mason. When the chapel was finished, he built a Way of the Cross outside. Jean Marie Piquemal was a builder at heart. He was helped in his work by a small group of collaborators, most often volunteers. In 1985 the chapel became an official place of pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is on September 15, the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. The site emanates a quiet strength. People like to come and meditate there, whether they are believers or not.