ERMITAGE SAINT PRIVAT

According to Gregory of Tours, in the 3rd century, the Gabales were invaded by the Alemanni. Chrocus, their leader, asks Privat to deliver his people to him. He refused and was martyred near the caves of the hermitage. Popular legend has it that he was locked in a barrel bristling with nails pointing inwards and thrown from the top of Mount Mimat. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the caves of his martyr became an important place of pilgrimage. Hermits or colleges of priests will be installed in these places. But the place is often ransacked and abandoned, particularly during the Wars of Religion. In 1850 the still existing chapel was built then in 1873, the last hermit, Brother Joseph Laget, transformed and fitted out the premises. He built a residence and in 1881 rebuilt the stations of the Stations of the Cross. In 1960, Father Durand opened a reception center after building a 50-room residence. The site is permanently accessible, the chapel occasionally (in the afternoons in July and August, the parish of Mende organizes visits to the chapel and the cave: 04 66 49 13 99). The Heritage Foundation is organizing a call for donations to restore the Hermitage of Saint-Privat de Mende, an emblematic and heritage site in Mende.

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