Did you know one of the world’s smallest chapels was destroyed twice – and not by the Germans who captured it in World War II?

The Little Chapel stands on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, the only part of the British Isles that fell under German occupation during World War II. (The Channel Islands in WWII) The Little Chapel is one of the smallest chapels in the world, if not the smallest. It was destroyed twice during its history. You might assume at least one of those was by the Nazis, but actually, the chapel’s builder was responsible for both occasions.

The de la Salle brothers, a 17th century Catholic congregation focusing on education, established a presence on Guernsey in 1904. One member, Brother Déodat, built a tiny chapel 9 feet long by 4.5 feet wide, in 1914, inspired by the grotto and basilica in Lourdes, France. His fellow brothers criticized his work, and he tore it down in a single night.

His second attempt, 9 by 6 feet, was built later the same year. It stood until 1923, when it was visited by the Bishop of Portsmouth. The bishop could not fit through the narrow door, so Brother Déodat tore down this edifice as well.
 
His third attempt, relatively cavernous at 16 feet by 9 feet, was started soon after, but Brother Déodat went to France and died there before it could be finished. The chapel was, and is, decorated with pebbles, seashells and countless bits of colorful broken china donated by the islanders.

The tiny chapel survived World War II and the German occupation without a scratch. In fact, it even housed an unusual and “unofficial” wedding during the war, a story we will soon relate in another article.

You can visit the Little Chapel, and many other sites of the Channel Islands and their German occupation, on our Channel Islands Tour.