Pardon des Sept-Saints

The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, a Shared Story

The Pardon des Sept-Saints takes its name from the legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, seven young Roman officers who, refusing to renounce their Christian faith, were walled up alive in a cave in the 3rd century under Emperor Decius. This story, born in the East in the early 6th century, is present in both Christian tradition and in Surah 18 of the Quran (the "Companions of the Cave").

Louis Massignon and Islamo-Christian Dialogue

In 1954, the French Islamologist Louis Massignon noticed the similarities between the two stories and organized for the first time the reception of Muslims during the Breton pardon of Le Vieux-Marché. A delegation of North African workers accompanied Massignon to pray together for peace between Muslims and Christians in the Maghreb, during the Algerian War. Since then, the Islamo-Christian pilgrimage has continued annually, becoming a unique symbol of interreligious dialogue.

An Authentic Breton Pardon

The Pardon des Sept-Saints remains above all a traditional Breton pardon, with its procession carrying banners and crosses to the Chapel of the Seven Saints, built above a dolmen, its solemn mass, its Breton hymns, and its tantad (traditional bonfire). The conferences and round tables on interreligious dialogue, organized on Saturday, complete the spiritual program.