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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Léonard d'Avilly-Saint-Léonard, located in the department of Oise in the Hauts-de-France region, is a parish Catholic building whose first mention dates back to a pontifical bubble of Pope Lucius III in 1185, confirming the possession of the cure in the chapter of Notre-Dame de Senlis Cathedral. The choir, of primitive Gothic style, dates from the beginning of the 13th century, while the lateral chapels and the north side, influenced by the Renaissance, were added in the 16th-17th centuries. The nave, redesigned in modern times, preserves ancient elements but has never been vaulted.

The church's furniture is particularly rich, with six elements classified as historical monuments, including a set of twenty 16th century stalls from the Clunisian Priory of Saint-Nicolas-d'Acy, located on the neighbouring town of Courteuil. These stalls, decorated with sculpted mercies and hand supports, constitute the last material vestige of this priory. The church also houses notable paintings, such as an anonymous Supper of the 16th-17th centuries and works commissioned in 1760 by the parish, as well as an epigraphic plaque of the 15th century representing the Mass of St Gregory, probably from the former collegiate Saint-Rieul of Senlis.

The parish history is marked by local conflicts, such as the trial between the parish priest Jacques Vidcoq and the inhabitants in 1729–35 for the repair of the bell tower, then in bad condition. The parish registers, opened in 1662, reveal pious gifts and foundations, such as those of the Houbigant family, owners of a local laundry. After the Revolution, the parish, attached to the diocese of Beauvais in 1822, lost its priest resident in the 20th century and is now served in the parish of Saint-Rieul de Senlis, covering sixteen communes.

Architecturally, the church is distinguished by its neat choir, vaulted with warheads carved with foliage, and its flat bedside pierced by a triplet, typical of the rural churches of Senlisais. The side chapels, added in the 16th century, have a late flamboyant Gothic style, while the bell tower, probably from the 18th century, has a sober belfry floor. The interior, decorated with a polychromy redone after World War II, preserves 19th-century stained glass windows with Gothic and biblical motifs.

Parish life was punctuated by mass foundations, such as that of Abbé Jean Chérault in 1635, or the rents left by the Houbigant in the 17th century for the education of poor children. After the Concordat of 1801, the parish, deprived of its diocese of Senlis, was attached to Amiens and then Beauvais. Today, Sunday Masses are celebrated on a monthly basis, perpetuating a centuries-old liturgical tradition in this village located between Chantilly and Senlis, in the heart of the Oise-Pays regional nature park in France.

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