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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Ferréol de Lentignac, originally dedicated to Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in the 12th century, is a Catholic religious building located at the place-known as Lentignac, on the commune of Moulinet (Lot-et-Garonne). Its Romanesque architecture is characterized by a unique rectangular nave pierced with original windows, subsequently redesigned, and a semicircular apse choir arched in cul-de-four. The western gate, in a broken arch dating from the 14th to 15th centuries, is surmounted by a triangular bell tower with three campanary bays, typical of the rural buildings of the time.

The church underwent several transformations: its Romanesque windows were enlarged in the 17th century, and an awning porch, now destroyed, was added in the 18th century in front of the gate. Disused during the French Revolution, it was sold as a national property in 1798 to Guillaume Béchade-Labarthe, before being returned to worship in 1825 and returned to the commune in 1833. Abandoned in the middle of the 20th century, the building, in ruins, benefited from partial restoration around 1997, the year of its inscription in the Historical Monuments.

The interior decor includes an arching of five arcades in the middle of the hanger rhyming the choir wall, while the drip walls preserve traces of the classic arrangements. The adjacent cemetery, still present, highlights its former parish role. The church thus illustrates the architectural and cultural evolutions of a small rural building, marked by periods of medieval prosperity, revolutionary upheavals and contemporary restorations.

Its history also reflects the changes in religious expression: from Sainte-Marie-Madeleine to Saint-Ferréol, a local patron whose cult was gradually established. The sources also mention its precise location in the hamlet of Lentignac, away from the village of Moulinet, highlighting its anchoring in the rural landscape of Lot-et-Garonne. The 1997 inscription covers both the church and the ground of the cemetery, protecting a coherent heritage complex.

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