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Origin and history

The Saint-Éloi church of Bordeaux, located against the door of the Grosse Cloche, is an emblematic building of the city. Built at the end of the Gothic period (15th century), it features a main nave, a unique low side and vaults with ivy and veins in stars. Its apse, pierced with sill windows, and its lateral bell tower illustrate its medieval architecture, while its western façade, remodeled in 1828 with three gates, bears witness to subsequent interventions. Ranked a historic monument since 1921, it was the church of the Jurade of Bordeaux, a historic municipal institution, before being erected as a personal parish in 2007 and entrusted to the Institut du Bon Pasteur.

Inside, the church maintains an 18th-century high altar from the Abbey of La Sauve-Majeure, as well as a classified funeral inscription of 1633. Its neogothic altars and organs, restored in the early 2010s, complete a remarkable furniture heritage. The building is also known for its role in contemporary religious tensions: in 2010, a report by France 2 revealed links between the parish, led by Abbé Philippe Laguerie (2007-2009), and the extreme right-wing group Dies Irae, resulting in a defamation trial finally lost by the clergy in 2014.

The church of Saint-Eloi is today one of the two churches of Bordeaux celebrating Mass according to the tridentin rite (extraordinary form of the Roman rite). His recent history is marked by influential parish priests such as Abbé Yannick Vella (2009-2017) or Abbé Grégory Lutz-Wiest (since 2017), and his attachment to local spiritual figures, including Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac, a native of Bordeaux, and Blessed Jean-Joseph Rateau. Its status as communal property and its openness to the public make it a place of both heritage and living, despite the controversy.

Architecturally, the church is 35 meters long, with a nave 12 meters high and a 5 meters low side. His choir, slightly diverted to marry the old ramparts line, recalls its integration into the medieval urban fabric. The interior foothills, forming side chapels, and the successive modifications (such as the gates of 1828) highlight its evolution over the centuries. These features, coupled with its historical and religious role, make it a key monument to the Bordeaux heritage.

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