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Origin and history

The Saint-Luperc Cathedral of Eauze, located in the Gers in Occitanie, is an emblematic building of the Southern Gothic, built between 1467 and 1521 under the impulse of prior Jean Marre. It replaces earlier churches, including a first cathedral probably built on the Roman baths of Elusa (the ancient name of Eauze), a major administrative city of Novempopulania from the third century. The diocese of Eauze, attested as early as 314 with Bishop Mammertimus at the council of Arles, disappeared in the ninth century after the Viking invasions, its metropolitan title being transferred to Auch in 879.

The present church, with a single nave and polygonal choir, incorporates side chapels and carved arch keys. Its construction was followed by major restorations between 1860 and 1878, including stained glass redone by Jean-Baptiste Anglade, and the revelation in 1972 of re-used Roman stones. The site, linked to the early worship of Saint Luperc (Vth century), shows a Christianization superimposed on pagan cults (Mithra, Cybelus), typical of the militarized Roman cities. The inscription "Hic est Sedes" (here is the seat), disappeared in 1798, suggested the original location of the bishopric.

The monument, classified as a Historical Monument in 1945, preserves traces of its tumultuous past: destruction in 1569 (wars of Religion), partial reconstruction of the Benedictine priory in 1732, and modification of the bell tower (octogonal tower) in 1721. The ancient stained glass windows, partly attributed to Arnaud de Moles or Laurens d'Agen (1520), are accompanied by absidial paintings depicting the Pantocrat Christ and biblical scenes. The building thus illustrates the historical stratification of Eauze, from antiquity to modern times.

The cult of Saint Luperc, a converted Roman military and martyr around 250, is part of a strategy of Christianization reusing pagan symbols. Its name evokes the Lupercales, the Roman festival of fertility, while its legend (written only in the tenth century) binds it to a monastery founded in 980 on the hill overlooking the ancient city. This religious syncretism, common in the late Empire, is attested by pagan steles and altars re-used in the walls of the church.

Architecturally, the cathedral mixes bricks and stones, with a narrow nave (10.70 m) contrasting with its height (21.65 m), probable legacy of a church with three anterior naves. The 19th century restorations, although controversial (inner coating removed in 1972), preserved Gothic elements such as chapel foothills and carved key vaults. The entrance porch, added around 1830, and the "imperial" peak (1721) testify to successive adaptations.

Today, Saint-Luperc Cathedral remains a symbol of the Gascon heritage, mixing Roman, medieval and modern history. Its furniture (tables, statues) and its stained glass windows, partially classified in the Palissy inventory, make it a place of memory and cult still active, despite the disappearance of the original diocese.

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