Chapelle des Pénitents Gris

The first guilds of Aix arrived in 1520, with the Gray Penitents coming a little later in 1677. The Penitent brotherhood are like monks - they are a lay association with rules, which began to appear in the XIII century. They engage in a profession or a special charity, which generally is to bury the poor, those ve died of epidemics, or to serve the rejects of society. The Penitents normally dressed the same, but there are some privileged ones, like the poor, in the order. This uniform makes them all equal in their work. The Gray Penitents were engaged in burying the poor and strangers. They are called this because they wore a gray jacket, which they were also buried in.