The Chapel

A chapel of the Catholic Church

The Saint Expedit & Saint Padre Pio Chapel of Grasse is a place of worship dedicated to the Catholic Church, and more specifically the Gallican Catholic Church. You are warmly invited to meet Abbé Éric for the organization of religious ceremonies in the Catholic tradition and to benefit from his exorcist expertise.

The Catholic Church

The Gallican Catholic Church is the Catholic Church of our country (Gallia = Gaul = France), which has taught, since ancient times, the same faith in our Lord Jesus Christ without adding or removing anything, unlike what is often seen today. It is the Church of Bossuet and Fénelon—neither modernist nor fundamentalist. It is the former Church of the Kings of France, also known as the Church of Gaul, meaning the authentic traditional church of our parents and great-grandparents.

A brief history of the Gallican Catholic Church

After the French Revolution of 1789 and its reign of terror, which decimated a large part of the clergy, and in response to a concordat-based Church subjected to civil power and the Vatican’s control, it was Emperor Napoleon I who restored the rights and prerogatives of the Gallican Catholic Church. He did so by inviting His Holiness Pope Pius VII to sign the Concordat between France and the Vatican on July 15, 1801 (which remained in effect until 1905).

This agreement regulated the relationship between France and the Holy See and between the French State and the Church, remaining valid until the law of December 9, 1905. That law repealed the Concordat, established the separation of Church and State, and introduced a civil law concerning the constitution of religious associations—distinct from the cultural associations established by the July 1, 1901 law.

It was then Bishop François Chatel (1795–1857) who took up the torch of Gallican freedoms and led the French Catholic Church (as the Gallican Church was then called).

From 1904 to 1911, during the Church-State separation period, it was Bishop Jules Houssay who became its Primate—better known as a religious writer and theologian under the literary name Abbé Julio. His books are a reference in matters of religious tradition.

Upon his death, Bishop Louis François Giraud became the Primate of the French Catholic Church, which resumed its former name: Gallican Catholic Church.

Browse testimonials about the Chapel’s religious services and, if you wish, you can make a donation to the church directly online.

For more information or to organize a religious ceremony, contact your Abbé. The Chapel, located in Grasse, welcomes faithful from across the region: Nice, Cannes, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, the Alpes-Maritimes, the Var, and the Bouches-du-Rhône.