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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Thomas-Becket of Avrieux, located in the Savoy department, finds its origins in a first mention in 1214 under the name Ecclesia of Aprili. Dedicated to Thomas Becket, canonized English saint in 1173, it is linked to the donation of property by Anselm d'Avreux and his children, potentially of English origin according to controversial sources. The pastoral visits of the 16th and 17th centuries attest to the presence of the saint's relics in the building, stressing its spiritual importance and its anchoring in the exchanges between Savoy and England.

The major reconstruction of the church took place in the 17th century, motivated by a vow of the inhabitants after an epidemic of plague in 1630. In 1649 Bishop Paul Milliet commuted this vow in the obligation to redo the choir, made between 1660 and 1673 by Mason Pierre Bertrand and local artists Laurent Portaz and Augustin Bertrand. The choir, covered with a dome, is inspired by the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption of Aussois. The baroque altarpiece, adorned with torso columns and statues (Saint Thomas, Saint Blaise), was gilded in 1680 by the master Pierre Milandre of Antwerp for 1,000 guilders. The church was consecrated in 1678 by Bishop Hercule Berzet.

The lateral altars, dedicated to Saint Blaise (1677) and to the Rosary (1684, renamed Chapel Saint Joseph), illustrate the liturgical and artistic evolution of the building. A crypt, dug in 1685 under the vestibule, initially served as a winter burial before being transformed into a chapel. The church, of traditional Savoyard plan (three naves and dome), also incorporates a decor painted on the north facade representing the procession of vices and virtues, attributed to Abbé Joseph Damié. Ranked a historic monument in 1989, it bears witness to the Alpine baroque and the historical links between the Maurienne and Europe.

Church architecture is part of the tradition of the churches of Maurienne, with a three-span nave preceded by a vaulted narthex. Its strategic location on the Mont-Cenis road, a major axis towards Italy, reinforces its role both religious and symbolic. The archaeological and historical sources, such as the works of Canon Bellet or Raoul Durand, underline its heritage importance, mixing local influences (sculptures of the Bertrands) and European (Flemish worships).

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