Saint Bénézet inspired the building of the bridge. He was a shepherd boy from the hamlet of Villard in the Ardèche. According to tradition, he heard the voice of Jesus Christ while he was looking after his sheep. Jesus asked him to build a bridge across the river. Although he was ridiculed at first, he "proved" his divine inspiration by miraculously lifting a very large block of stone. He won support for his project and formed a Bridge Brotherhood to help with building the bridge. After his death, he was interred on the bridge itself. This was in a small chapel standing on one of the bridge's surviving piers on the Avignon side.