Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Saint-Germain Church, located in Saint-Germain-de-Coulamer in the Mayenne department, is a Roman Catholic building. It was rebuilt under the impulse of Jules Grasser, parish priest, by architect Pierre-Aimé Renous. Its current location, at the crossing of the departmental roads 222 and 238, marks the centre of the village.

The church preserves notable historical elements, such as a 1527 Gothic epitaph dedicated to Jehan Marmion, parish priest for nearly fifty years. Originally placed in the old church, it was moved under the current porch to avoid its deterioration. A slate plaque of 1689, commemorating Madeleine de Vassé, wife of René de Courtavel, is also on display.

Inside, a reliquary of Saint Sebastian, composed of a forearm in vermeil and a relic brought back from Rome in 1870 by Vicar General Wicart, is preserved. The church also houses a relic of Saint Germain. The 1906 inventory, marked by a strong intervention by gendarmes, remains a notable event in its history.

The building thus illustrates both Romanesque religious architecture and tensions related to the law of separation of churches and the state at the beginning of the twentieth century.

External links