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Key figures

Origin and history

The Church of the Immaculate Conception of Hercé is a Catholic building located in the department of Mayenne, Pays de la Loire. It replaces an old church dedicated to St Peter, described as a "no style" building, with a choir with a straight bedside and a transept with two chapels. This first church housed modest furniture, including a bentier called "very curious", a cracked bell and a wooden cross.

The construction of the present church began with the laying of the first stone on 19 July 1869. The building was blessed three years later, on November 10, 1872. Its architecture adopts a Romanesque style, with a Latin cross shape and three apses joined. Inside, there is a large stone altar of Caen, as well as carved elements from the André d'Angers workshops, such as the pulpit and the confessional.

The history of the church is marked by notable events, including the 1906 inventory, originally scheduled for 15 February but postponed to 24 February due to the absence of witnesses. The security forces had to intervene to block the entrances to the town and to break down a door. More recently, the bell tower's arrow, destroyed during the 1999 storm, was rebuilt in 2001. Among the remarkable elements, a 15th century statue of Saint Barbe, in granite covered with polychrome glacis, bears witness to the ancient heritage integrated into the building.

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