chapelle

Chapelle is the French term for a chapel, a small place of worship. In Christian usage, a chapelle may be a separate building dedicated to a saint or relic, or a designated space within a larger church, cathedral, or monastery. The word can also refer to private chapels belonging to noble families, royal residences, or secular institutions such as hospitals, prisons, or universities where daily worship, ceremonies, or contemplation may take place. The concept emphasizes a dedicated, often narrower, space for sacred functions within a broader religious complex.

Architecturally, chapelles are typically smaller than the main church and may be arranged off the main nave or along the sides of a transept or choir. They commonly contain an altar, a religious image or relic, and may reflect the architectural style of their era, from Romanesque to Gothic, Renaissance, or Baroque. Chapelles may serve specific liturgical purposes, house tombs or mausoleums, or support devotional practices such as patron saint veneration or adoration of relics.

Notable examples in French religious architecture include Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, a royal chapel completed in the 1240s under Louis IX to house sacred relics like the Crown of Thorns. Across Europe, countless chapelles exist as integral parts of cathedrals, abbeys, and palaces, as well as in modern institutions where they provide quiet spaces for worship, reflection, or small services within larger structures.

In contemporary usage, chapelle often denotes a functional worship space within a larger institution or complex, retaining its role as a focused site for prayer, devotion, and ceremonial life.