Our Lady of the Rosary

Statue of Saint Stephen

This statue of Saint Stephen, carved from stone and still retaining its polychrome finish, probably dates from the 16th or 17th century. It depicts the saint wearing a dalmatic, a liturgical garment traditionally associated with deacons. One striking detail catches the eye: a stone embedded in the back of his skull, a direct reference to his martyrdom, as Saint Stephen was stoned to death for his faith.

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Statue of a saint with a book

This painted and stuccoed wooden statue, dating from the 16th–17th centuries, depicts a crowned saint holding a book, a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. The absence of more specific attributes makes identification uncertain, but the work could depict Saint Catherine, often associated with books due to her erudition, or Saint Barbara, also represented as a young, noble and educated woman.

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Virgin and Child

This Virgin and Child, carved in white stone by Dominique Molknecht, a sculptor of Italian origin who became a naturalised French citizen in 1948, was donated to the parish in 1867 by Empress Eugénie, at the request of Abbé Saffrey, parish priest of La Perrière. The work is notable for the delicacy of the drapery of the Virgin's cloak, with its soft, harmonious folds. Molknecht's style, clearly inspired by ancient Greek statuary, is part of the neoclassical and academic movement.

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Stained glass window of Our Lady of the Rosary

The stained glass window of the Rosary, created in 1936 by the Lorin workshops in Chartres, is based on a design by Marthe Dano, the first woman employed by these workshops. Donated by the Guez and Dujarrier families, it depicts Saint Dominic receiving a rosary from the Virgin Mary, who is holding the Baby Jesus. The rosary features a crown of thorns, a direct reference to the Passion.

The work is notable for its skilful use of blue tones.

Gravestone

Visible in the current Saint Joseph's Chapel, it comes from the former Saint Michael's Chapel, which was renamed after the 1867 renovations. The inscription reads: ‘In the year 1602, on Wednesday, the eleventh day of December, Louis du Bouchet, squire and lord of La Monnerie during his lifetime, died: his body lies here in burial.’ The coat of arms, now hammered, bore the family arms ‘argent with three boar's heads torn from sable’.

Romanesque bay window

This Romanesque window, dating from the 12th century, is arched and has a splayed embrasure, designed to maximise interior light while maintaining the solidity of the wall. It dates from the same period as the old Romanesque south door, now bricked up, and the ground floor of the bell tower, and is one of the only visible remains of the old Saint-Étienne chapel, which once served the walled town located on the outskirts of the castle on the current site of L'Éperon.

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