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Key figures

Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame-du-Cap-Fleuri was founded in 1908 in Cap-d'Ail by Canon Auguste Sajot, a former missionary in Vietnam. The latter, accompanied by Bishop Louis-Marie Pineau, participated in the beatification of the Martyrs of Vietnam in Rome in 1900. After a stay in Marseilles, he was appointed to Cap-d'Ail by the bishop of Fréjus, Félix Guillibert, to establish a parish. The land is offered by Ernest Onimus, a doctor and freemason, while architect Paul Chevalier designs the building and the presbytery. The church was blessed on April 17, 1910, incorporating neo-gothic elements such as ogival vaults and a rosette.

The building, oriented northeast due to topographical constraints, includes a unique nave of six spans, a polygonal choir and a bell tower topped by a modern arrow. The northern gate, sheltered under a porch, is illuminated by a rosette and broken arch windows. The sculptures are made by Eugène Leguay, and the stained glass windows, created for the jubilee of the year 2000 by the Thomas family (glassmasters of Valencia) after the cartons of Clotilde Devillers, represent Notre-Dame-du-Cap-Fleuri and various saints. The capitals of the nave bear the coats of arms of benefactory families, including those of Onimus and Gastaldy-Bonthour, donors of the bells.

In the 1960s, the choir was modified to create a sacristy. The church, located along the seaside road, is framed by the Saracen tower of Cap-d'Ail and the residence of Cap-Fleuri, the latter having a chapel served by the parish priest. Since the Liberation, the Jean-Moulin Terraces, adjacent to the church, welcome the military ceremonies after the Masses, in the presence of the municipal officials. The building remains a symbol of local community and religious life, linked to the urban expansion of Cap-d'Ail in the early 20th century.

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