I say a little prayer for you

Designed as a miniature replica of the basilica at Lourdes, the seashell- and mosaic-decorated Little Chapel on Guernsey was at risk of collapse until a group of locals stepped in, as Arabella Youens discovers

- Arabella Youens

WHEN the Roaring Twenties were in full throttle elsewhere in Europe, a member of the fraternity of De La Salle had his mind dedicated to other matters. The Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Catholic religious order, established themselves in Guernsey in 1904 and opened a Catholic boys’ school. One of the members, Brother Déodat, arrived to take up the role of sacristan on the eve of the First World War. Convinced that children learn mostly through their eyes, he had an idea. According to his diary, his attention was caught by a copse of trees in the Vauxbelets valley, which was—in his mind—eminently suitable for the erection of a grotto resembling that at Lourdes in France, with a miniature chapel to represent the Basilica of Massabielle.

It took three attempts to get the chapel right. The first, constructed in March 1914, was criticised by his fellow brothers for being too small and was torn down. A few months later, Brother Déodat established a grotto, which he adorned with a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and later created a miniature chapel measuring 9ft by 6ft above. However, when the Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth visited in 1923, he couldn’t get through the door and refused to allow the chapel to be used for Holy Mass. This was taken as a sign by Déodat who set about demolishing the structure and he began a new, larger chapel measuring 16ft by 9ft big enough to accommodate about eight people. This time it would be decorated in a style called pique-assiette literally meaning plate-pincher, the sort of person who might gatecrash a party to enjoy a free meal with colourful pieces of broken china, pebbles and ormer shells. Used on a large scale, this technique has a mesmerising effect: Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol’s Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain, is probably one of the most famous examples.