# Cathédrale Saint-Sacerdos Sarlat's former cathedral - **Place**: Sarlat-la-Canéda - **Period**: XIIᵉ–XVIIIᵉ siècles - **Type**: Religious building - **Protection**: Listed historic monument - **Mérimée record**: PA00082916 - **Coordinates**: 44.8889, 1.2169 A former Benedictine abbey church made a cathedral in 1317, it blends a 12th-century Romanesque bell tower with a Gothic nave and choir completed in the 17th century. Listed as a Monument Historique (France's national heritage listing) as early as 1840, it commands the medieval heart of Sarlat. ## History - **1147 — Saint Bernard's visit** According to tradition, Saint Bernard performed the miracle of the blessed loaves at Sarlat. - **1317 — Birth of the cathedral** The diocese of Sarlat is created: the former Benedictine abbey becomes a cathedral. - **1504 — The Gothic rebuilding** Bishop Armand de Gontaut-Biron launches the rebuilding; the Romanesque nave is demolished. - **1682–1685 — The completion of the vaults** Under Bishop François de Salignac, the great vaults are finally rebuilt. - **1801 — The end of the diocese** The Concordat abolishes the diocese of Sarlat, which is attached to that of Périgueux. - **1840 — The listing** The former cathedral is Listed as a Monument Historique. ## Figures - **Saint Sacerdos · † vers 720 · Patron saint** Bishop of Limoges in the 8th century, Saint Sacerdos gave his name to the building. His relics, moved to the monastery of Sarlat in the Middle Ages, became the object of a cult there that officially supplanted that of the Saviour in 1122; they disappeared during the Wars of Religion. - **Armand de Gontaut-Biron · évêque de 1498 à 1519 · Bishop of Sarlat** Bishop of Sarlat at the turn of the 16th century, in 1504 he launched the Gothic rebuilding of the cathedral, whose Romanesque nave was then demolished. It was he who would also consecrate the église Sainte-Marie in 1507. - **Fénelon · XVIIᵉ siècle · Bishop of Sarlat** It was under his episcopate that the cathedral's great vaults, long left unfinished, were finally rebuilt between 1682 and 1685. ## Places - **Sacristy · Remains of the Romanesque cloister** The sacristy of the cathedral occupies the former chapter house of the Romanesque cloister, the only part of that cloister still visible today. It's unusual in that it spans two levels, a layout rarely seen in sacristies, which are normally on a single floor. This arrangement is connected to the cathedral's "upper chapel," whose access passage was rediscovered during restoration work in the early 2000s. - **The bell tower · The Romanesque Bell-Tower Porch** The oldest part of the building, this 12th-century bell-tower porch replaced an earlier Carolingian structure and features three levels of round arcades, each smaller than the one below. Its original spire, destroyed by lightning in 1721, was replaced by the bulb-shaped dome with lantern that crowns it today, added in the 18th century. Sturdy and understated, it remains the most visible expression of Périgord Romanesque style anywhere on the cathedral. - **The organ · The Lépine Organ (1752)** Perched above the main portal in its distinctive "swallow's nest" case, this organ was built in 1752 by Jean-François Lépine, then just seventeen years old and a pupil of the celebrated organ builder Dom Bedos de Celles. Listed as a historic monument, the instrument itself since 1952, the case since 1976, it underwent a major restoration between 2001 and 2005 that restored its original four-manual layout. It is now regarded as one of the best-preserved instruments by this great 18th-century organ builder, and it still sounds during services and concerts today. ## Key facts - **1147 — The miracle of Saint Bernard** according to tradition, Saint Bernard, passing through Sarlat, is said to have performed the miracle of the blessed loaves there. - **1504 — An interrupted construction** the Romanesque nave is demolished for a Gothic rebuilding whose vaults would not be completed until 1685, nearly a century and a half later. - **XVIIᵉ — A deliberate late Gothic** rather than adopt the Renaissance style, construction was continued in the Gothic manner, for the sake of consistency. ## Frequently asked questions ### Does Sarlat still have a bishop? No. The diocese of Sarlat, created in 1317, was abolished by the Concordat in 1801 and merged into Périgueux. The building keeps the name of cathedral, but it is a former one. ### Why does the cathedral mix Romanesque and Gothic? The porch tower is what remains of the twelfth-century Romanesque abbey church. The Romanesque nave was demolished in 1504 for a Gothic rebuilding whose great vaults were only completed in 1685. ### Who was Saint Sacerdos? A bishop of Limoges who died around 720, whose relics were moved to the monastery of Sarlat in the Middle Ages. His cult officially replaced that of the Saviour there in 1122, and the relics vanished during the Wars of Religion. ### Is the organ original? It dates from 1752 and was built by Jean-François Lépine, then only seventeen years old. Restored between 2001 and 2005, it regained its original four-keyboard layout and is still played at services and concerts. ## Links - Full page: https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda/cathedrale-saint-sacerdos - Town: https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda - Reference: https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00082916 - Reference: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2942447 - Reference: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cath%C3%A9drale_Saint-Sacerdos_de_Sarlat - Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarlat_Cathedral --- Source: OPUS Heritage, https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda/cathedrale-saint-sacerdos. Content published by the town of Sarlat-la-Canéda.