The Church of the Holy Cross () 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
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, southern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
It was formerly the church of a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
abbey founded in the 7th century, and was built in the late 11th-early 12th centuries. The façade is in the
Romanesque architectural style.
The church has a nave and four aisles, a transept with
apse
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
s on each arm, and a polygonal apse. The nave is 39 m long, while the apse is 15.30 m high. Its organ dates from the 18th century.
In the 19th century, the church was renovated by
Paul Abadie
Paul Abadie (9 November 1812 – 3 August 1884) was a French architect and building restorer. He is considered a central representative of French historicism. He was the son of architect Paul Abadie Sr.
Abadie worked on the restoration of No ...
. The former Benedictine abbey now houses the .
Gallery
File:Bordeaux Sainte-Croix 26.JPG, Romanesque west portal
File:Bordeaux Sainte-Croix 33.JPG, West facade with blind arcades
File:Bordeaux Sainte-Croix 23.JPG, Expulsion from paradise
File:Bordeaux Sainte-Croix 22.JPG, Mary and Jesus
File:Bordeaux Sainte-Croix Konstantin 20.JPG, Constantine's baptism
See also
*
Plantagenet style {{short description, Medieval architectural style in western France
The Plantagenet style or Angevine Gothic is an architectural style of western France, mainly of the second half of 12th and the 13th century. By Eugène Viollet-le-Duc it was calle ...
*
Bordeaux Cathedral
Bordeaux Cathedral, officially known as the Primatial Cathedral of St Andrew of Bordeaux (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic church dedicated to Saint Andrew and located in Bordeaux, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Bordeaux-Bazas, Arch ...
References
Sainte-Croix
Sainte-Croix
Romanesque architecture in France
Chemin Neuf Community
{{France-Christian-monastery-stub