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Origin and history

Saint-Ébons Church in Sarrancolin, also known as Saint-Pierre-Saint-Ébons Church, is a Catholic religious building dating back to the 11th century, with a major reconstruction in the 12th century. Located in the Hautes-Pyrénées, on the edge of the departmental road D929, it follows a Greek cross plan typical of Romanesque architecture. Its square bell tower, 35 meters high, is surmounted by an arrow in slate flanked by four bell towers, while its choir, decorated in the 15th century, is closed by a wrought iron gate of the 16th century. The monument preserves exceptional furniture, such as Renaissance stalls, seventeenth-century retables, and especially a 13th-century shawl in gold copper and mulch enamel, containing the relics of Saint Ebons, bishop of Barbastro (Spain) who died in 1104 and buried in the Benedictine monastery.

The foundation of the priory associated with the church dates from the 11th century, but the monastic buildings were destroyed by fire around 1570. The building itself was classified as historic monuments on February 10, 1903, while a geminied archage from the former capitular hall was inscribed on January 27, 1928. The bell tower, composed of three arched floors in a cradle, presents a complex architectural decoration: its last-level geminous bays are decorated with columnettes and concentric archvolts, reflecting southern Romanesque art. The nave, the choir and the arms of the transept are vaulted in an ogival cradle, and the apse adopts a cul-de-four vault.

The priory, now in ruins, extended south of the church, with remains of the capitular hall still visible. The shawl of Saint Ebons, the centrepiece of the church's heritage, illustrates the importance of reliquary worship in the Middle Ages. This monument, owned by the commune, bears witness to both the monastic history of the area and the architectural evolution between the 11th and 17th centuries, mixing Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance influences. Its furniture, considered remarkable, makes it a major site of the religious heritage of the Hautes-Pyrénées.

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