commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of the
Vendée
Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
in western
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Chavagnes en Paillers is known as one of the two ''villes saintes'' (holy towns) of the Vendée. (The other is
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (, literally ''Saint-Laurent on Sèvre'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
Pilgrimage
Some 25,000 visitors per year arrive at the town, for it is the burial place ...
). It is home to the mother-houses of two religious congregations: the Sons of Mary Immaculate and the Ursulines of Jesus, both founded by the Roman Catholic priest
Louis-Marie Baudouin
Louis-Marie Baudouin (2 August 1765 - 12 February 1835) was a French Roman Catholic priest who was the founder of the "Sons of Mary Immaculate" and also the "Ursulines of Jesus". Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed him to be Venerable on 20 December 2012 ...
in about 1802 in the wake of the French Revolution (1789) and the
War in the Vendée
The war in the Vendée (french: link=no, Guerre de Vendée) was a counter-revolution from 1793 to 1796 in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the river Loir ...
(mainly 1793-1796).
Still present also in Chavagnes is the seminary Baudouin founded for the training of boys and men destined for the priesthood. It was the first junior seminary to be approved in France after the Revolution. It now continues as Chavagnes International College, an international Catholic boarding school for boys, teaching through the medium of English.
The word Chavagnes is thought to come from the dog Latin ''cabanas'', meaning ''cabins''. The inhabitants are known as ''Chavagnais''.
Statistics
*Altitude: 36 m (mini) – 92 m (maxi)
*Area of the 'commune' of Chavagnes: 40,57 km²
*Population: 2 963 hab (in 1999)
*Population density: 73 inhabitants per square kilometre