Saints and Miracles

Christianity came to Brittany through saints who often seem more like druids than orthodox holy men. These Celtic saints performed miracles that echo older magic: controlling weather, speaking with animals, traveling in stone boats, raising the dead.

Saint Ronan and the Sacred Circuit

Saint Ronan, an Irish hermit who settled in Brittany, exemplifies the fusion of Christian and pagan tradition. He established a sacred circuit, the Troménie, around the mountain of Menez Lokorn. Every six years, pilgrims still walk this 12-kilometer path, believed to trace an ancient Celtic nemeton (sacred grove boundary).

Legend says those who complete the circuit earn pardons for their sins—but those who walk it counterclockwise, against the sun's path, risk madness or misfortune. The path includes stations where particular prayers must be said, rocks that must be touched, and springs whose water must be drunk. Miss any element, and the circuit's power breaks.

Saint Anne and the Sacred Springs

Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, holds special reverence in Brittany. The great pilgrimage site of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray draws hundreds of thousands annually. But Saint Anne's Breton connection predates Christianity—she absorbed attributes of Ana or Dana, the Celtic mother goddess.

Sacred springs dedicated to Saint Anne dot Brittany. Their waters cure everything from infertility to eye diseases, but always with conditions. The afflicted must approach barefoot, leave an offering (traditionally a pin or coin), and never look back after drinking. Break these rules, and not only does the cure fail, but the illness worsens.