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Origin and history

The chapel of St. Eugénie, located in Nîmes in the Gard, is mentioned for the first time in 956 in a cartular of the cathedral chapter, making it the oldest church still in operation. Its medieval origin is marked by a Romanesque nave with double arches and a cradle vault, typical of the 10th and 11th centuries. Four funerary slabs of the 12th and 17th centuries still remain on its floor, while the choir, restored in 1654, has a vault on cross of warheads decorated with liernes and thirdons.

The troubled history of the chapel reflects the religious upheavals of Nîmes. Granted to the Protestants in 1561, it was then transformed into a powder magazine, then abandoned after its sale in 1569. It became the only parish in the city until 1746, when it became Catholic in 1657. Sold as a national property in 1792, it was bought in 1877 by Canonine Couran, who undertook work to give it its present appearance, including a neo-Roman façade in moulded cement and a neo-Gothic altarpiece classified in 1970.

The architecture of the chapel thus combines two distinct epochs: the nave of the 10th century and the choir of the 15th century, supplemented by additions of the 19th century. The western façade, redone around 1880-1885, and the carved wooden interior decoration illustrate the popular neo-medieval style at this time. Joined historical monuments since 2009, it is now served by the Catholic parish and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, perpetuating its spiritual role after more than a thousand years of history.

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