St Michael's Chapel

The Chapel was built as an extension of the devote chapelle by the architect Gabriel Andrade. It is a two-storied rotunda with an apse; the whole construction fits well into the monastery.

In the apse is an altar in marble from the Pyrenees; it is a beautiful red streaked with white and above it is the bronze reliquary engraved by the Parisian silversmith, Brunet. It contains the tomb of the saint, with mask and hands in wax. Another gilt wooden reliquary, containing the greater part of the relics, has been placed under an altar.

On the first floor, huge galleries overlook the rotunda by means of a portico with ten tall monolithic columns in green marble from Estours (Ariege). Their bases are linked by balconies in wrought iron. They are the work of Szabo, the wrought iron craftsman. They are adorned with the traditional signs of the virtues of the saint: his strength (the knights crown with a lion); humility (two doves perched on the edge of a goblet); justice (a sceptre, scales and a sword); gentleness (a lamb bearing the palm of martyrdom); temperance (a clock and a bit); prudence (a mirror, a compass and a serpent); charity (a basket of fruit); faith (a cross with a tiara); hope (an anchor and flowers, the promise of fruits).
A round window, six metres in diameter, the work of Maumejean (Biarritz), dominates the cupola and tells of the heavenly triumph of the former shepherd of Ibarre: Father Garicoits is presented to Our Lady of Betharram by his patron saint, the Archangel St Michael.
The entire monument leaves an impression of nobility and serenity.