Saint-Calais
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Saint-Calais () is a
commune 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 ...
in the
Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
department in the
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
of
Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...
in north-western
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 ...
. Prior to 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 conside ...
it was known for its
Benedictine abbey , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...
named after the Anisola stream (modern Aniole, a tributary of the Braye). Saint-Calais is a later name coming from one of the local saints of the Perche area. William of St. Calais, a product of this monastery, was a post-conquest
bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...
. There are no remains of the Abbey, which was a principal land-owner in the vicinity. The existing parish church has a fine Renaissance facade. The Aniole was dammed by the monks, thereby retaining a significant lake area. Reaction against monastic landowners and the relative proximity to Paris (under twenty-four hours by stage-coach) conditioned the nineteenth century politics of the town. The coming of the railways and more recently of the motorway favoured neighbouring La Ferté-Bernard which has grown at the expense of Saint-Calais, which has a population under 4000 and which lost its sous-préfecture status in 1926. The town however retains certain services appropriate to that level, e.g. hospital facilities.


History

Saint-Calais was involved in the 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, the world's first motoring Grand Prix. The D357 towards
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
and the D1 towards
Vibraye Vibraye () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. History Vibraye was involved in the 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France, the world's first motoring Grand Prix. The D1 toward ...
and La Ferté-Bernard formed two sides of the triangular course.


People

Famous persons from the town include Cardinal
Louis-Ernest Dubois Louis-Ernest Dubois (1 September 1856 – 23 September 1929) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Paris. He played a leading role in the period of adjustment to the separation of Church and State in France. Early life He was born i ...
,
archbishop of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Arch ...
and subsequently
archbishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in Fran ...
in the early twentieth century.


See also

*
Communes of the Sarthe department The following is a list of the 354 communes of the Sarthe department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Communes of Sarthe Orléanais {{Sarthe-geo-stub