Chapelle de la Miséricorde ou des Pénitents noirs - Menton

The Chapelle de la Miséricorde , also called the Chapelle des Pénitents Noirs , was built around 1640 for the Confrérie des Pénitents Noirs (Brotherhood of the Black Penitents).

It was a lay brotherhood of believers dedicated to charity , funeral rites, and penance . They wore black hooded robes and performed public penances. Their work included caring for the sick, accompanying those condemned to death, and burying the poor.

The facade is rather austere, but the interior is richly Baroque , with gilded altars and old religious paintings. Among the pieces are an 18th-century crucifix and an impressive statue of the Virgin of Sorrows (Notre-Dame de la Miséricorde).

In Menton, you'll also find the Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs (White Penitents), closer to the basilica. The two chapels symbolize different aspects of penance: the black ones (mourning, death) and the white ones (peace, forgiveness).

Willem Vandenameele