When Montfort arrived in Saint-Laurent-sur-S\u00e8vre in 1716, the current square did not exist.<\/p>\n
The location was occupied by the tombs of the Petit Cimeti\u00e8re and the Chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Gr\u00e2ces. This building, dating back to before 1601, belonged to the Lords of the Manor of La Barbini\u00e8re.<\/p>\n
As part of his mission, Father de Montfort encouraged the residents of Saint-Laurent to come together as brotherhoods and sisterhoods. He founded the Confr\u00e9rie des Vierges for unmarried women, and the Confr\u00e9rie des P\u00e9nitents Blancs for the men of the town.<\/p>\n
The Chapel became the meeting place for the men, and was thus renamed Chapelle des P\u00e9nitents.<\/p>\n
During the Wars in the Vend\u00e9e that followed soon after the Revolution, the chapel, the cemetery and the houses around it suffered as a result of attacks by the Republican army campaigns known as Les colonnes infernales.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people were massacred, the houses burned and the chapel used as a grain store for the Republican army.<\/p>\n
When this difficult period came to an end, it was time to rebuild.<\/p>\n
1801 saw construction of the Supiot house, since demolished.<\/p>\n
The Chapelle des P\u00e9nitents was in a parlous state and declared a ruin.<\/p>\n
The Petit Cimeti\u00e8re, the last resting place of Brother Saint-Esprit Joseau – one of the first in Saint-Laurent to support the Daughters of Wisdom – fell into disuse.<\/p>\n
In 1809, the local council bought the chapel, demolished it and replaced it with the Place des P\u00e9nitents.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the 20th century, the square changed its name to the Place Saint-Gabriel, taking its name from the boarding school run by the teaching brothers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"