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Origin and history

The College of the Oratory of Riom finds its roots in a long local educational tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. As early as the fifth century, the Saint-Amable church of Riom, linked to the regular canons of Saint-Augustin, played a central role in education, with primary and secondary schools attached to the abbey. These institutions, initially reserved for future clerics, gradually opened up to the laity, despite the tensions between religious and secular education. The disturbances of the Hundred Years' War and the local conflicts in the 13th century, however, disrupted their development.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the municipality of Riom, faced with difficulties in managing its communal college, appealed to the Congregation of the Oratory in 1617. A treaty was signed in 1618, entrusting the Oratorians with the management of the institution in exchange for a free education for 300 students. The Fathers of the Oratory, led by Jean Bence, began work of enlargement in 1628, marking the building of a door dated 1662, symbol of their presence. The college grew rapidly, with the opening of higher classes (rhetoric, philosophy, theology) between 1622 and 1660, attracting up to 800 students.

The architecture of the college reflected its importance: two bodies of buildings surrounding a courtyard, with a chapel and an integrated library. The Oratorians, despite tensions with the Jesuits and accusations of Jansenism in 1744, maintained their influence until the Revolution. In 1792, the Congregation was dissolved, and the college became municipal before being entrusted to the Marist Fathers in 1856. The cochère door of 1662, classified as a historic monument in 1929, remains the only protected vestige of that time.

After the Revolution, the building changed its vocation several times: polymatic school under Gabriel Dumontel (1800), renowned municipal college Michel-de-l'Hospital in 1886, then high school in the 20th century. The architectural transformations (chapel destroyed in 1861, enlarged in 1876) partially erased his Oratorian heritage. Today, the site, always dedicated to education, bears witness to four centuries of educational history in Auvergne, mixing religious and secular heritage.

Among the illustrious students of the college are personalities such as Marivaux (1688–1763), the writer and playwright, or Gilbert Romme (1750–1795), revolutionary and mathematician. These names underline the role of the college as an intellectual crucible, far beyond Riom. The library, dispersed after 1792, contained rare books, reflecting Oratorian academic excellence. The college thus embodies the transition between the religious education of the Ancien Régime and the modern public school.

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