Rick Falco

Tromenie de Locronan

Locronan is a beautiful little town nestled on the western edge of Brittany, France. Every year, on the second Sunday of July, the people of Locronan gather to participate in a Tromenie. Tromenie comes from the Breton phrase, ‘tro minihy,’ which means, “the monk’s walk.” The town’s origin revolves around the cult of St. Ronan. The saint was an Irishman who came here in the eleventh century to find the solitude necessary for his contemplative vocation. He is now remembered by a pardon, known here as a tromenie.

The night before the procession, several individuals from the church come to tidy up the site where St. Ronan’s Chapel lies. On Sunday morning, people from the town and surrounding areas gather near the church. Many are dressed in the traditional garments and regalia of Bretagne. Together they will celebrate Mass. and share waybreads before the march. At the tolling of the bells everyone assembles in the square in front of the Church of La Penity.

The participants will walk the same route St. Ronan took every morning to a small chapel out in the countryside. The distance there and back is about fourteen kilometers. As the march moves away from the town it meanders through some of most picturesque landscape in Brittany. The harvest is rich in color and blossom. Everyone in the procession will circle the saint’s chapel once before the congregation assembles for a small ceremony and refreshment.

The relics of St. Ronan are carried in a small casket the entire length of the tromenie. At the end of the day, the casket will be held aloft at the entrance of the church so that all of the participants can pass beneath it. The colors are lowered as the procession passes under the relics of St. Ronan and back into the church. Many of the faithful will reach up and touch the casket one last time before passing underneath.