St Guillem of Combret Hermitage

The St Guilhem of Combret Hermitage is a small rural romanesque chapel located on the southern flank of the Canigou massif, in the French department of Pyrenees-Orientales, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies midway between the villages of Prats-de-Mollo, seat of the parish to which the chapel belongs, and Le Tech, capital of the municipality.

According to legend, the chapel was built by a hermit named Guillem, who settled there in the early Middle Ages after defeating evil spirits that had haunted him. The Romanesque construction dates from the 11th century, and was based on a somewhat older building. The chapel is a listed building, as are various objects (including a rare wrought iron bell) associated with it.

Two medieval manuscripts addressed to the priests officiating at the church also survive. The hermitage has been a place of welcome and for the rest of travelers for over a thousand years. The site includes a refuge, rebuilt in 2014, for the several hiking trails which pass nearby.

Although the chapel has not been home to any hermits since 1840, it still becomes a place of meditation twice a year, during traditional Catalan religious festivities known as aplecs, celebrating St. Guillem and St. Mary Magdalene, to whom the hermitage was originally dedicated.