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Origin and history

Notre-Dame des Tables Basilica, located in the heart of Montpellier, is a baroque building built between 1707 and 1748 under the direction of architect Jean Giral. Originally, it was the chapel of the Jesuit College, now the Fabre Museum. In 1802 it replaced the former church of Notre-Dame des Tables, destroyed in 1794, and became the parish church of the city. His name evokes the tables of money changers and merchants who settled around the medieval church, stage on the way to Santiago de Compostela.

The former church of Notre-Dame des Tables, located on the current square Jean-Jaurès, dated from the 11th century and was rebuilt several times after destructions linked to the wars of religion. In 1621, it was shaved by the Protestants, then rebuilt between 1650 and 1655 before being definitively destroyed in 1794. Only a few remains of its crypt remain, transformed into a museum (museum of Old Montpellier).

The present basilica, erected as a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1939, houses a rich artistic heritage: a marble altarpiece by Auguste Baussan (1853), a choir organ by Théodore Puget (1893), and a painting by Jean-Charles Nicaise Perrin, L'Assomption (1804), classified as a historical monument. The main organ, built by Dom Bédos de Celles between 1751 and 1752, was transferred in 1805 from the abbey of Saint-Thibéry. It has been restored several times, notably in 1995.

The basilica has three bells, including a 1.7-ton bumblebee melted in 1946 and named Victoire-Etienne-Adrienne. In 2025, it was designated as one of the ten jubilary churches of the diocese of Montpellier for the Jubilee of Hope. Since 2002, it has been part of the Cathedral of Montpellier parish, bringing together the churches of the city centre.

The sanctuary is intimately linked to the history of Montpellier, of which he is the patron saint with Saint Firmin. Its architecture and furniture reflect the religious and artistic evolution of the region, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era. The building, which was listed as a historical monument in 1938, remains an active place of worship and a witness to the Occitan Baroque heritage.

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