Saint-Gildas Church

Between Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Goustan, and now Saint-Gildas, you may be starting to think Auray has an unusually high number of saints packed into one small town! So who exactly was Gildas? Known as Gweltaz in Breton and nicknamed “the Wise,” Gildas was a monk born in Britain around the 6th century.

He is best known for writing one of the few surviving accounts of this turbulent period, after the Romans had left Britain and as the Anglo-Saxon invasions were taking place. But don’t expect a gentle, flattering chronicle. Gildas had no trouble criticizing the kings and clergy of his day for what he saw as their bad behavior.

A saint, yes… but one with plenty of character! According to tradition, he later came to Armorica and founded the Abbey of Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys on the peninsula that now bears the same name.

Several centuries later, the abbey established a priory here, which is how Auray’s church came to be named after him. The church standing in front of you, however, is not the medieval one. By the 17th century, the old chapel had fallen into such poor condition that it was replaced by a much larger building.

Construction took around forty years, which helps explain its unusual mix of styles: forms inherited from the Middle Ages sit alongside a far more decorative facade influenced by the Baroque. The bell tower, meanwhile, was rebuilt in the 19th century. And don’t stop at the facade.

Inside, you’ll find an impressive stone and marble altarpiece, an elegant organ case, and stained-glass windows telling the story of Saint Gildas. Now that you’ve been properly introduced, you may as well go in and pay him a visit!