Breton people have kept faith with their beliefs and traditions, many of them inherited from the Celts, in spite of attempts by the clergy to eradicate all références to paganism. As can be seen from the vast number of holy wells, pilgrimages, votive offerings and chapels, saints hold an important place in daily life - a survival of Celtic polytheism.

For all of life’s needs there is a saint
Bretons have an easy, straightforward relationship with their saints, so long as the saint keeps his side of the bargain - if not, look out for reproaches. The worship of saints still thrives to the present day. There are thousands of them, the more official recognised by the clergy and the rest recognised as such by the local residents.

The seven founding saints of the Armoricain bishoprics, the ‘‘fathers of the nation’’, are Saint Patern (Vannes), Saint Corentin (Quimper), Saint Brieuc, Saint Tugdual (Téguier), Saint Samson (Dol), Saint Malo and Saint Pol-Aurélien (Saint-Pol-de-Léon).

Sainte Anne
The worship of Saint Anne, wife of Joachim and mother of the Virgin, replaced that of the Celtic goddess Ana, to take a major place in the Breton consciousness. The first missionaries to evangelise the region held her in great esteem. Her worship extended to the Church as a whole in 1584. In August 1623 a miracle occurred : a mysterious lady appeared to Yves Nicolazic in a field (le champ du berceau) at Bocenno, near Auray (Morbihan). She told him that there had once been a chapel - the first in all the land - dedicated to her and she would like it rebuilt. Some time later, Yves Nicolazic discovered a statue on the spot the Saint had indicated ; the basilica of Saint-Anne-d’Auray now stands on the site.

Saint Ronan
Ronan, an Irish monk, came to the region of Léon in the 7th century to seek solitude. With the help of a farmer he settled in the forest of the Névet. But the farmer’s wife, Kebenn, wished harm to Ronan and spread false stories about him. For his peace of mind he decided at last to leave Cornouaille for Hillion, near Saint-Brieuc, where he died. His body was taken by ox-cart to Locronan in Finistère, to the spot where Saint Ronan’s Church now stands. Unlike the worship of healing saints who were revered by the peasants and the middle classes, Saint Ronan’s following exteded to the ruling house of Brittany all the dukes would come and pray at his tomb for ‘‘inheritance and lineage’’.

Saint Yves
Yves Hélory, patron saint of Brittany, was born near Tréguier in 1253. He became a judge in rennes and Tréguier, and took over a small parish in 1284. He was noted for his justice and his love for the poor to whom he devoted all his time, earning him the name of ‘‘the poor mans advocate’’. He was canonised by Rome in 1347.
Protector saints

Saint Fiacre and Saint James are the defenders of gardens and sailors respectively. Sainte Barbe is the patron of firemen and those who handle explosives.

Healing saints
Saint Roch and Saint Sébastien in days of old were invoked in times of Plague.
Saint Mamert, healed stomach aches.
Saint Yvertin, healed headaches.
Sainte Appolline, healed toothaches.
Saint Méen, healed troubles of the spirit.

Saints whose fame does not go beyond their own parish boudary
In Nantes, Our Lady ‘‘make-milk’’, venerated by nurses whose milk had run dry.
Saint Allant-et-Venant en Rezé, called on to help children who were slow in learning to walk.

‘‘Veterinary’’ saints
Saint Cornély or Saint Herbot for cattle
Saint Hildas, Saint Hervé and Saint Eloi for horses
Even poultry had its saint - Saint Ildut
In Saint Corentin’s cathedral in Quimper, people wishing to retrieve lost property place bread before the statue of Santik-Du. He is also called upon to send fine weather when it rains, and the statue is turned to the wall if he fails. At the grand pardon of le Folgoët in Finistère, pilgrims touch and kiss the statue of Our Lady of Folgoët in the hope of having their prayers answered.

Pardons: a remarkable expression of popular Breton Faith
From the 15th century onwards, as more churches were built, pilgrims would gather in large numbers to ask for pardons and indulgences. These assemblies, which the clergy called pardons, are nowadays an opportunity to admire traditional costumes and gain an insight into the Breton soul.
What happens at a pardon: The pardon will begin with a solemn mass, generally in the open air, followed by a sung procession accompanied by brightly-coloured banners, splendid crosses and statues of saints carried by men and women in traditional costume. A non-religious festival often unfolds alongside the religious festival proper. In coastal towns pardons may differ slightly ; when the procession arrives at the harbour, the clergy, choirboys and reliquaries will be taken aboard a boat. The priest will then bless all the boats in the harbour. Examples are the pardon of Saint James in Locquirec (Finistère) and on Groix, the blessing of the Courreaux - the waters between the island and the Morbihan mainland.
Unusual pardons: The pardon of the seven saints, an Islamic-Christian pilgrimage at Vieux Marché (Côtes d’Armor), created in 1954. It symbolises the rapprochement between Islam and Christianity with Catholic masses and Muslim prayers (the Fahtiya). This takes place on the last Sunday in July.

Every 15th of August since 1979, the rector has blessed motorbikes at the Biker’s Pardon in Procaro (Morbihan).
The main pardons:
3rd Sunday of May - Pardon of Saint-Yves in TREGUIER (22)
Last Sunday of June - Pardon of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul in PLOUGERNEAU (29)
Last Sunday of June - Pardon of Saint-Barbe in FAOUET (56)
1st Sunday of July - Pardon of Notre-Dame de Bon Secours in GUINGAMP (22)
1st Sunday of July - Pardon of Notre-Dame du Roc in MONTAUTOUR (35)
2nd Sunday of July - Little Troménie in LOCRONAN (29)
26th July - Pardon of Sainte-Anne d’Auray in SAINTE-ANNE D’AURAY (56)
4th Sunday of July - Islamic-Christian Pilgrimage in LE VIEUX-MARCHE (22)
1st Sunday of August - Pardon of Saint-Guénolé in BATZ-SUR-MER (44)
15th of August - Pardon of Querrien in LOUDEAC (22)
15th of August - Pardon of Notre-Dame de la Clarté in PERROS-GUIREC (22)
15th of August - Pardon of Notre-Dame de la Joie in PENMARC’H (29)
15th of August - Troménie of High Brittany in BECHEREL (35)
15th of August - Pardon of the Virgin in MONT-DOL (35)
15th of August - Pardon of Notre-Dame de Quelven in GUERN (56)
3rd Sunday of August - Pardon of Notre-Dame de La Tonchaye in ROCHEFORT-EN-TERRE (56)
Last Sunday of August - Pardon of Sainte-Anne-La-Palud in PLONEVEZ-PORZAY (29)
Last Sunday of August - Pardon of La Baule in LA BAULE (44)
1st Sunday of September - Pardon of Notre-Dame du Folgoët (44)
7-8th of September - Pardon of Notre-Dame du Roncier in JOSSELIN (56)
8th of September or the nearest Sunday to this date - Pardon of Notre-Dame de Grande Puissance in LAMBALLE (22)
1st fortnight of September - Pilgrimage of Notre-Dame de La Peinière in SAINT-DIDIER (35)
3rd Sunday of September - Pardon of Notre-Dame du Voeu in HENNEBONT (56)
1st Weekend of October - Pardon of Notre-Dame des Marais in FOUGERES (35)

Votive offerings
The ‘‘ex-voto’’ is a gift to thank a saint for granting a wish or bringing the donor safely through an accident. It is placed in the church or chapel and often carried in procession.
The moving ex-voto (beginning of the 19th century) of the chapel of Rocamadour in Camaret (Finistère), offered by seamen survivors.
The heterogeneous ex-voto of the museum of Saint-Anne d’Auray (Morbihan) : crutches of healed paralytics, shrapnel, irons of pardoned prisoners, fragments of sea-wrecks, paintings and even the jersey of the world champion cyclist, Bernard Hinault, deposited in 1980.
The ex-voto of Notre-Dame de La Peinière (Ile-et-Vilaine), of which the strangest is made up of the debris of a plane (brought by the Lieutenant François Porteu de La Morandière, who fell from his plane without a parachute and was miraculously saved)

Banners
A banner is a kind of Christian standard carried by the parish congregation during processions. On one side of it will be represented the local patron saint. Parochial pride being rife in Brittany, communities rival each other to produce the largest and richest banner, each trying to outdo the next in luxurious embroidery of silk, silver and gold. The banners used to be kept in special cupboards, but many are now on display in churches and chapels.
Holy Wells
The worship of holy wells was already widespread in Celtic times. Spells were chanted to give the waters health-givign properties, and as the centuries passed springs spread the hope of healing. Later, in an attempt to obscure this pagan origin, the clergy allotted Christian protectors to these springs and the statuette of a saint would be placed in a stone niche. During pardons, the faithful come to pray and drink at the sacred waters, hoping for a cure (Saint Nicodemus’s well at Pluméliau and Saint Meriadec’s at Stival, Morbihan), fertility (Fountain of Quelven, Morbihan), protection (Fountain of Saint Jaoua, Finistère), or even divination (Fountain of Bodilis, Finistère).

Christianised Menhirs
Very early, standing stones came to be seen as perpetual reminders of pre-Christian religions. If not destroyed, they were converted to Christianity in many ways : - a cross would be erected alongside the menhir or nearby. - the menhir would have a cross or statue placed on top. - a niche would be carved in the menhir to take a statue. - the instruments of the Passion would be carved in bas-relief on one side. But Bretons still follow practices that the Church would prefer to forget. For instance, they continue to offer coins at menhirs, to anoint them with butter, and childless women will persist in rubbing themselves against standing stones to achieve fertility.
Some examples :
-The menhir of Saint-Uzec at Pleumeur-Bodou (Côtes d’Armor)
-The menhir of Rungléo at Logonna-Daoulas (Finistère)
-The menhir of the Drouetterie at Vay (Loire-Atlantique)

The rites
The ceremony of Breuriez in Plougastel-Daoulas (Finistère)
The ceremony of Breuriez is held, every November 1st, consisting of tow parts : the sale of the Apple Tree and the Bread of the Dead (‘‘Bara an anaon’’). The ceremony begins with the auctioning of the ‘‘Gwezenn ar vreuriez’’, a stylised tree stuck with apples (the auction is symbolic and the purchaser decided in advance). Then, bread rolls are blessed and distributed after a prayer to the dead. Each person gives a coin. The proceeds from the sale of the apple tree and the rolls are given to the church to pay for a service for the dead of Breuriez.
The ceremony of the 1st of May and the ceremony of the Bread of the Dead in Locronan (Finistère)
Every year, young people plant a beech (the sacred tree of the Celts) on the night before May Day. Among the ancient Celts, the eve of May Day was one of the most important religious festivals of the year, when Belen the sun-god was celebrated. It is chopped down again on June 24th and its branches used for lighting the midsummer bonfire. The tradition continues in modern France with bonfires on the feast of Saint John.
On November 1st, parochial church councillors go from house to house with the Bread of the Dead specially baked for the occasion.

Bell-wheels
A few Breton churches still retain this strange ritual object decorated with little bells, commonly called the wheel of fortune. For the ancient Celts the wheel was an important religious symbol, probably symbolising the sun and was used by priests for divination. How did such wheels find their way into Christian churches ? No-one knows. The fact remains that in Confort-an-Meillars (Finistère) where the practice is still alive, the bells are used every Sunday at the moment of the elevation of the Host and above the heads of children who are slow to speak. Other bell-wheels can be found in the Côtes d’Armor in Saint-Nicholas-du-Pélem, Locarn, Laniscat and Kérien.

The Ankou
The ancient Celts dis not fear death ; for them it represented the start of a better life. When converted to Christianity, Bretons looked on death in the same way, as a simple and natural thing. The many ossuaries - buildings to store the bones of the dead - show the Bretons’ familiarity with death ; parishioners meditate naturally in front of the skulls. Besides the souls of the departed - ‘‘An Anaon’’ - are never far away. At important dates such as Christmas and especially All Hallows it was usual to leave them a few pancakes and a good fire in the house.
However the Bretons’ fear of death appears in the evocation of the Ankou. (In Breton ‘‘Anken’’ means sorrow, and ‘‘ankoun’’ oblivion.) The Ankou is the all-powerful master of the other world. He is depicted as a skeleton, sometimes draped in a winding-sheet, holding a scythe with the handle upside down. Earlier pictures depict him with an arrow or a spear. The Ankou goes about at night standing on a cart with squeaking wheels. This grim conveyance is known as the ‘‘karrig an Ankou’’, Ankou’s chariot (or ‘‘karriguel an Ankou, literally Ankou’s barrow’’). In coastal areas this is replaced by the ‘‘bag noz’’ - the night boat. To hear the squeaking wheels of the cart or to meet the grisly procession on the road are signs of a death in the family. The smell of candles, a cockcrow at night and the sound of tinkling bells are also interpreted as harbingers of death.

The implacable Ankou is a warning not to forget our last end. Reminders are inscribed on the walls of churches or ossuaries : ‘‘I kill you all’’ (Brasparts and La Roche-Maurice), ‘‘Man, remember that thou art dust’’ (La Roche-Maurice), or else, in Breton, ‘‘Death, judgment, cold hell : let man think on these things and tremble’’ (La Martyre).
Some examples :
-The sacristy of the church of Bulat-Pestivien (Côtes d’Armor).
-The transept of the church of Ploumiliau (Côtes d’Armor).
-The ossuary of Lannédern (Finistère).
-The ossuary of Ploudiry (Finistère).
-The old ossuary of the chapel of Sainte-Anne in Landivisiau (Finistère).