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Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre de Joyeuse, located in the Ardèche department, finds its origins in the thirteenth century. Originally annexed to the priory of Rosières, it was given in 1111 by the bishop of Viviers to the monks of Cluny. This link with Rosières, who was himself dependent on the priory of Ruoms, lasted until 1617, when the building became a collegiate church under the management of the Oratorians. The Duchess of Joyeuse, Princess of Guise, played a key role in 1620 in financing her release from Rosières' guardianship.

The major reconstruction of the church took place in the seventeenth century, marked by the date of 1676 engraved on its façade. The work, slowed down by an epidemic of plague in 1629, was led by Father François Fressinaud, superior priest and architect. He kept the ducal chapel (the said of His Highness) while rebuilding the nave, the choir, the side chapels and the bell tower. The missing funds delayed the complete completion of the project, including a chapel symmetrical to that of the Duchess, carried out only 150 years later.

The church was restructured in 1842 by the parish priest Mathon, who changed the height of the nave, filled the vaults and transferred the remains of the Oratorians to the Freyssinnet cemetery. He added the chapel Saint-François-Régis and entrusted the decoration to an Italian painter, Molinari. Among the notable elements are a painting attributed to Simon Vouet in the chapel Saint-Louis, a pieto offered in 1842 by Queen Marie-Amélie, and an altar in 18th-century pink marble, native to the Abbey of Chambons.

The flamboyant Gothic-style ducal chapel houses the tombs of William V of Joyeuse (bishop of Aleth, died in 1540) and his successor William VI (duc of Joyeuse, died in 1592). The current bell tower, erected in 1912, replaces a structure shot down during the Revolution. The building, inscribed in the historical monuments in 1988, illustrates the persistence of Gothic techniques in the seventeenth century, mixed with classical influences.

The present church consists of three architectural periods: the choir and the left chapels (XIVth–XVth centuries), the nave and the right chapels (1676), and the chapel Saint-Régis (XIXth century). Its decoration, originally Sulpician (circa 1840), was soberly restored around 1965. Today, the local association ensures its maintenance, perpetuating its central role in Joyeuse's religious and historical heritage.

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