Saint Remi and the Roll of Fabric

Before leaving the square, look up at the building across from you. The bas-relief on the first floor was carved in 1951 by artist Jean-Paul Luthringer. It depicts Saint Remi, the Bishop of Reims best known for baptizing King Clovis and for his role as the patron saint of cloth and drapery.

On the right, the saint is immediately recognizable by his episcopal symbols: a mitre on his head, an ornate cope, a crozier in his left hand, and his right hand raised in blessing. Beside him stands a smaller figure bent over a roll, in a scene that appears to show a textile worker unrolling a length of fabric. The bishop’s presence here is no religious coincidence.

It honors the commercial history of this corner. Beginning in 1922, this prominent site on Place Alsace-Lorraine was home to the Saint-Rémy department store, a textile business that was extremely popular with the people of Lorient. It too was destroyed.

During the reconstruction, the decision was made to preserve the memory of the lost store in granite. The sculptor placed its patron saint directly above the site of the former entrance, creating a stone sign that links prewar Lorient with the rebuilt city.