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Origin and history

The church Saint-Didier de Préaux, located in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, is a neo-Gothic religious building. Its current location corresponds to that of an earlier church, attested as early as the Napoleonic cadastre of 1832. The reconstruction of the church, decided in 1865, ended with its consecration in 1878, marking a period of architectural and spiritual renewal for the commune.

In the 12th century, the parish of Preaux depended on the priory of Andance, linked to the abbey of the Chair-God, as part of the archdiocese of Vienna. In 1536, the priory was detached for the benefit of the Collège de Tournon, founded by Cardinal François de Tournon, then entrusted to the Jesuits in 1561 until their dissolution at the end of the eighteenth century. The French Revolution led to the closure of the church in 1793, before its reopening in 1802 as part of the Concordat.

The stained glass windows of the church, made between 1876 and 1878, represent saints such as Saint Didier, patron of the building, as well as the coat of arms of Bishop Bonnet, bishop of Viviers, and Pope Pius IX. Inside, reorganized after the Second Vatican Council, houses elements classified as historical monuments, such as a 15th century benigner, stalls, and statues such as the Virgin with the Child or Saint Philomena, inscribed in 1974.

The church had several work campaigns, notably in 2016 (roofs and windows) and in 2022 (painting of the choir). His parish role evolved with the diocesan reorganizations, from an independent parish to the integration, in 2003, of the parish "Saint-François Régis des vals d的Ay et de la Daronne", covering the cantons of Satillieu and Saint-Félicien.

The monument to the dead, located in the entrance, commemorates parishioners who died during World War I. The bells provide civil and religious bells, while the former marble high altar, of neo-Gothic style, remains a central element of the choir. The church thus illustrates the architectural, liturgical and community evolution of a rural religious building over centuries.

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