Saint Peter's Church of Simard en Saône-et-Loire

Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre de Simard, located in the department of Saône-et-Loire in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, has been rebuilt from 1868 on the plans of the departmental architect André Berthier (1811–73). It replaces an earlier building and is distinguished by its architecture combining bricks and stone, typical of the ecclesiastical reconstructions of the Second Empire. The neo-Roman style bell tower was completed in 1886, marking the end of the work by its quadrangular structure and twin bays in the middle of the wall.

The interior of the church consists of a nave of four spans, a salient transept and a semicircular apse sanctuary, illuminated by three bays. Among its remarkable furnishings are a master altar decorated with a carved copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, as well as a reproduction of the Lourdes Cave, reflecting the Marian devotion of the 19th century. These elements illustrate the influence of contemporary artistic and religious movements on rural cultural buildings.

Consecrated to the Catholic cult, the church falls under the Diocese of Autun and the parish of Saint-Trinité-en-Bresse, based in Saint-Germain-du-Bois. Its status as a building assigned under the 1905 law emphasizes its anchoring in the local religious heritage, while at the same time testifying to the architectural and liturgical transformations of the 19th century in France.

External links