Origin and history

The church of the Invention-des-Reliques-de-Saint-Étienne d'Essertines-en-Châtelneuf is a religious monument located in the municipality of the same name. Located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, this church bears a name evocative of the veneration of the relics of Saint-Étienne, although the available sources do not specify its period of construction or its detailed history. The churches dedicated to Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, were often central places in medieval and modern rural communities.

In Essertines-en-Châtelneuf, as in many villages in the region, this type of building served as a place of worship, community gathering and identity marker for the inhabitants. Their architecture and decoration generally reflected local resources and regional influences.