127 km | 155 km-effort
The Saint-Roch chapel was built in 1866 by the villagers to thank to Saint for protecting them against the cholera epidemic that had scourged the area at the time.
Born in Montpellier in 19340, Saint-Roch is supposed to protect against the terrible epidemics that ravaged Europe at the time. The plague and the cholera killed thousands throughout Europe. Saint Roch is the Patron Saint of a whole lot of professions and occupations: street pavers, surgeons, furriers…but he also protects animals. A huge number of churches, chapels, castles and factories bear his name.
He lived as a recluse in a wood nearby Voghera in Italy. He was always accompanied by his faithful dog that used to bring him his food. Ironically enough, he died of the plague in 1376.
Houyet chose Saint Roch as their patron Saint; he is celebrated on 16 August with a mass in his honour.
On the chapel facade you can admire a small niche with a wooden statue of the Saint. The statue in polychrome wood dates from the 17th century. The chapel also boasts an oak altar from 1696 with a representation of the Lamb of God, above which hangs a statue of the Holy man (circa 1867). Four magnificent stained-glass windows confer a beautiful, almost surreal glow to the chapel.
During the Second World War, the chapel played an important part in the resistance. In the chapel, under the altar, and guarded incessantly by the saint and his faithful canine sidekick, 525kg (about a 1,050 pounds) of dynamite was hidden. The sticks of dynamite were later used to blow up the railway bridge near the Halte d’Ardenne (on the railway line between Dinant and Bertrix).
We would like to close off by mentioning a Walloon expression typical to Houyet that is used to express faithfulness or complicity: Sint Roch n’èva jamé sins t’chin. (Saint Roch is never without his dog).
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Randonnées de la Maison du Tourisme Famenne - Ardenne Ourthe & Lesse PRO
