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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Abbey of Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux, founded in the 7th century by Benedictine monks, was destroyed several times (by the Sarrazins in 730, then the Normans in the 9th century) before being rebuilt in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. The present church, in Saintongese Romanesque style, adopts a Latin cross plan with a nave of five spans, a transept and a polygonal apse. Its sculpted portal, rich in symbols (zodiac, elders of Revelation, human vices), illustrates a theological reflection on life and redemption. The monumental organ, created in 1750 by the monk Dom Bedos de Celles, is considered a masterpiece of French classic design.

In the 18th century, the abbey, in decline, was partially rebuilt by the Maurists (1664-1672). After the Revolution, the church became parish, while its convent buildings successively housed a hospice (1793) and then the School of Fine Arts (1890). Restored by Paul Abadie between 1861 and 1865, who added a symmetrical bell tower, she preserved major works such as the paintings of Guillaume Cureau and the Exaltation of the Cross d'A. Bourgneuf. Classified as a Historical Monument in 1840, it remains an exceptional testimony of Aquitaine Romanesque art and Benedictine heritage.

Saint Mommolin, abbot of Fleury-sur-Loire died in Bordeaux around 679, is venerated as the local patron for his supposed miracles against mental illnesses. His cult, flourishing until the Revolution, is evoked by rings still visible on the pillars of the church, used to tie the possessed in search of healing. The saint's relics, hidden during revolutionary disturbances, are now preserved in a side chapel. Two paintings of the seventeenth century represent him, perpetuating his memory in the Bordeaux heritage.

The Dom Bedos organ, disassembled in 1811 for St Andrew's Cathedral, was returned to St Croix in 1970 after a long exile. His restoration (1984-1997) by Pascal Quériin revives his 45 games on five keyboards, making this instrument a flagship of French musical heritage. The buffet, rid of its brown paint in the early 1990s, returns to its original polychromy, while the inauguration in 1997, with renowned concertists, devotes its international influence.

The Abbey, which has been part of the pastoral sector of Saint John since 2021, remains an active place of worship despite episodes of vandalism. A group of parishioners now open on Friday afternoons and on some Sundays. Its history reflects the religious and political upheavals of the Gironde, from the Merovingian invasions to revolutionary secularization, including Maurist reforms and 19th century restorations.

The abbots of Sainte-Croix, such as Arnaud Trencard (XI century) or Guillaume le Bon (Xth century), played a key role in the expansion of the monastic domain, including cities such as Soulac or Saint-Macaire. Their conflicts with the Dukes of Aquitaine, especially for the control of mills and hydraulic rights on the Bourde Water, illustrate the economic importance of the Abbey in the Middle Ages. The d'abbé lists, from the origins to the commende (15th century), bear witness to its spiritual and temporal influence on the region.

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