The Église Saint-Georges (Church of St. George) 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 on the Place François-Bertras, in the

Vieux Lyon Vieux Lyon (, ) is the largest Renaissance district of Lyon. In 1964, Vieux-Lyon, the city's oldest district, became the first site in France to be protected under the Malraux law to protect France's cultural sites. Covering an area of 424 hecta ...

quarter, in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon. It is under the direction of the Primatiale parish and was named in honor of

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. The cathedral is near the Place Benoît-Crépu, between the quarter of the and Saint-Jean quarters.

History

A church located on this place was built in 550, but was destroyed around 732 during a raid of the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, but was restored in 802 by Leidrade. In the fourteenth century, it remained a parish church, but was used by the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, or

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

, and in 1315, the Commandery was located just next and had several windows and two cylindrical towers overlooking the

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

. Lange's family paid for the repairs of the church which were conducted by the commander Humbert de Beauvoir. In 1793, it became a hay barn and became a national property, in 1892, was restored by the architect Pollet. The current church was rebuilt in 1845 and completed in 1848, after plans by the architect Pierre Bossan who also made plans for the basilica of Fourviere. Abandoned between the late 1970s and 1989, the church was later assigned by Cardinal Albert Decourtray to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter under the Motu proprio Ecclesia Dei, which granted the practice of liturgical books of 1962 in Latin. The community was given by Cardinal Philippe Barbarin to three priests from the Fraternity of St. Peter, who joined the diocese. On 25 August 2007, Cardinal Barbarin signed the incardination of three of the five priests who served the church. Also in 2007, after repairs to the exterior of the church and adjoining spaces, the inauguration took place in the presence of Cardinal Barbarin and Senator-Mayor of Lyon Gérard Collomb.

Architecture

The church was rebuilt in

neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style. Architect Pierre Bossan, who also made the furniture, later deemed his work on this church as a "youthful mistake". The sculpture on the facade was made by Charles Dufraine and stained glasses are the artwork of Maréchal de Metz. The building is classified as

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 collection of buildings, ...

. The tower has a height of 67 meters. A

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

wooden

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, ...

of the sixteenth century shows the coronation of the Virgin.

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eglise Saint-Georges Roman Catholic churches in Lyon 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France 5th arrondissement of Lyon Roman Catholic churches completed in 1848 Monuments historiques of Lyon Gothic Revival church buildings in France Churches used by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter