( English: ''Saint-Girons Church''; Béarnese

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

: ''glèisa de Sent Gironç'') is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located in the commune of

Monein Monein (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments of France, department in south-western France. Geography Neighbouring communes *North: Lahourcade and Pardies *West: Lucq-de-Béarn and Cardesse *South: Estial ...

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

. The edifice is in the Gothic architectural style. It was classified as a of France on 7 August 1913. Its grand size made it the largest Gothic church in

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

in the 15th century. It is most famous for its heart of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

frame which represents the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

style.

History

Construction

In the 16th century,

was a growing village with over 5,000 residents, or 850 ''

fires Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion reaction when the fuel ...

''; ( in official Béarnese documents at the time), whereas in Pau there were only about 700 residents, as shown by the (census for taxation purposes) in Béarn. The old Romanesque church Sant-Pée (, equivalent to ) became too small for the residents, so it was decided to build a larger church next to the ''

Lay Abbey A Lay Abbey (Fr: Abbaye laïque) was a basic component of the Middle Ages in the western foothills of the northern Pyrenees. The adjective lay indicated that the property did not belong to a religious order. It is possible to identify a hundred la ...

'' (which no longer exists).

was also a very rich village as it paid more taxes than

Orthez Orthez (; ; , ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the small village of Sai ...

and Oloron together, and it was one of the largest

communes 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 ...

because it was composed of the villages of Cuqueron and Cardesse. Finally, the residents had religious life styles because there were 9

confraternities A confraternity (; ) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most common among Catholics, L ...

and 16

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

at the time. The size of the new church should be proportional to the wealth of the village; the Église Saint-Girons of Monein is over 61 m (200 ft) long, 16 m (52.5 ft) wide and 31 m (102 ft) high. It is larger than the two cathedrals of

, the

Lescar Cathedral Lescar Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is located in the town of Lescar, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. It has been listed since 1840 as a ''monument historique'' by ...

() in

Lescar Lescar (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. Lescar is the site of the Roman city known variously as Benearnum, Beneharnum or Civitas Benarnensium, the location prov ...

and the

Oloron Cathedral Oloron Cathedral (), now St. Mary's Church (), is a Roman Catholic church architecture, church and former cathedral located in the town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''Departments of France, département'' of France. It is ...

() in

Oloron-Sainte-Marie Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. History The town was founded by the Romans in the 1st century, then known as ''Illoronensium''. Situated on the Roman way between the ...

. Construction of the church began in 1464 and was completed in 1530. During the 70 years of construction, residents paid for the work through numerous taxes, with the local

Cagots The ''Cagots'' () were a persecuted minority who lived in the west of France and northern Spain: the Navarrese Pyrenees, Basque provinces, Béarn, Aragón, Gascony and Brittany. Evidence of the group exists as far back as 1000 CE. The name the ...

building the church.

Others

Queen

Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret (, Basque language, Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of He ...

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

transformed the church into a Protestant church, however the church returned to Catholicism under the (Edict of Integration of Béarn), promulgated by King Louis XIII of France (who was also Louis I of

at that time). The church was then refurnished and it still retains a large

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

and 17th century

organs In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...

from

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

today. The Église Saint-Girons was restored in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Its heart of

frame is now a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

Gallery

File:Cagot saint girons.jpg, Sculpture of a "Cagot" in the church. File:Monein, Pyrénées atlantiques, église Saint-Girons, bénitier cagots IMGP2491.jpg, Font for Cagots in the church, with a small sculpture of what is presumed to be a Cagot.

Notes and references

Sources

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eglise Saint-Girons Churches in Pyrénées-Atlantiques Roman Catholic churches in France Gothic architecture in France Monuments historiques of Pyrénées-Atlantiques