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Saint-Pierre church in Mornant and its Carêmi

The church | Otourly / CC-BY-SA
Parish church Saint-Pierre church in Mornant

Raised at the end of the 14th century, this small Gothic church replaced an older building, belonging to a priory, first mentioned in 800, then in the 10th century when duke of Austria destroyed it.

It was annexed by Savigny abbey in 975: monks surrounded it with walls (nowadays only remains the Vingtain tower).

The choir, transept and the two first bays date back to 1512. Inside, we can see a tribune, used by the Confalon brotherhood. But the church was too small... so architect Antoine Chenavard, from Lyon, extended it in 1846.

Oh, let’s talk about a funny thing... Carêmi! A naive statue of a hunchback with a child on his back, on the main façade.

Carêmi means "fasting" and reminds us a strange custom: children from the village used to come after the Mass, on Maundy Thursday, to throw stones on the statue!

Of course, the pebbles rain "killed" Carêmi. So they had to bury him, on Good Friday! The priest dissolved this custom in the 19th century, because stones damaged the windows...

After the church's restoration in 1846, they put Carêmi on the façade!

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!