Saint-Flour Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Flour de Saint-Flour) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

located in the town of

Saint-Flour Saint-Flour (; Auvergnat: ''Sant Flor'') is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region in south-central France, around 100 km south of Clermont-Ferrand. Its inhabitants are called ''Sanflorains''. Geography The upper cit ...

in the

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The dedication is to

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

and Saint Florus, the first

bishop of Lodève A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, who is also the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

of the town. It has been a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' since 30 October 1906. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

is the seat of the

Bishops of Saint-Flour The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Flour (Latin: ''Dioecesis Sancti Flori''; French: ''Diocèse de Saint-Flour'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Cantal. Erected in ...

. It is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

structure, built between 1398 and 1466.

History

A first

was built to house the remains of Florus, a bishop of dubious historicity and first legendary apostle of Upper Auvergne. This building is attested by a papal bull of

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Gregory V Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia * Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire o ...

at the end of the 10th century. In the 11th century, Odilon de Mercœur, Abbot of Cluny built a Romanesque

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

that Pope

Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

consecrated in 1095 under the triple name of Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Pierre and Saint-Flour. In the 14th century, Pope

John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...

created the dioceses of Saint Flour.Albert Rigaudière, Saint-Flour, ville d'Auvergne au bas Moyen Âge: étude d'histoire administrative et financière, (Publication Universitaire de Rouen, 1982), p. 67. In 1396 there was a partial collapse of the north side of the building. Bishop

Hugues de Manhac Hugues may refer to People: * Hugues de Payens (c. 1070–1136), French soldier * Hugues I de Lusignan (1194/95 –1218), French-descended ruler a.k.a. Hugh I of Cyprus * Hugues IV de Berzé (1150s–1220), French soldier * Hugues II de Lusignan ...

oversaw the reconstruction in spite of a difficult situation (one

hundred years war The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

). A new,

with three naves and four towers (two on the west and one on each side) was consecrated by Bishop

Antoine de Montgon Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

in 1466. During the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

in 1793, the building was ransacked and transformed into a

temple of the Supreme Being A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. The cathedral was restored to a church in 1802. Between 1846 and 1856, important restoration work was undertaken under the leadership of Monseigneur de Marguerye, bishop of Saint-Flour. The two lateral towers are demolished between 1862 and 1866. The cathedral is classified as a historical monument on October 30, 1906. In 2010,

Bruno Grua Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

, bishop of Saint-Flour commissioned new works on the building.

Gallery

File:Saint-Flour Cathedral.jpg, Saint-Flour Cathedral interior file:Saint-Flour Cathedral.JPG, Saint-Flour Cathedral in winter

References

Sources and external links

*
Catholic Hierarchy: Diocese of Saint-Flour

Location of cathedral
Roman Catholic cathedrals in France Churches in Cantal {{France-RC-cathedral-stub