The Church of Saint Michel stands proudly on the shoreline of the commune of Saint-Michel-en-Greve as if keeping guard against any threats from the sea. It is a quaint little church surrounded by a small graveyard and a sea wall.
On the exterior there is a plaque describing the origins of the church.
Translated it reads as follows:-
“This Church is dedicated to the Archangel Michael. Reconstructed in the 16th and 17th centuries it retains the Romanesque pillars of an earlier building. Its wall-bell tower and openwork stone steeple were constructed in 1614 in the Breton renaissance style and display characteristics invented by Philippe Beaumanoir. They were restored in 1869.
The interior is furnished with some fine Baroque pieces and a statue of St Michael in polychrome wood.
The stations of the cross and other paintings were done by a local artist Andre Thiry.
Outside, a statue of Saint Michael slaying the dragon, carved in granite by Morley Troman overlooks the street.
The churchyard wall was destroyed by storms and was rebuilt in 1871 and 1874; it was enlarged in 1977.
It is one of Europe’s few maritime cemeteries.
Date of local pilgrimage: Last Sunday in September.”
Images of The Church of Saint Michel
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