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Origin and history

The church Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul du Horps is a Catholic building located in the village of this Mayenese municipality, on the edge of the departmental road 129. Its architecture combines several periods: the Romanesque facade contrasts with a 14th century flat bedside and a 16th century window in the choir. Originally, the whole was covered with a wooden vault, now extinct.

The history of the church is marked by the ancient presence of the relics of Saint Scolastique, venerated during annual processions up to the chapel of the Ribay hermitage. These relics were burned in 1793 on the village square, on the orders of Louis Saint-Martin du Plessis, in the revolutionary context. This episode illustrates the religious tensions of the time.

The interior preserves notable furniture: a master altar of 1731, statues of the eighteenth century (holy Anne, Saint Joseph), and three altarpieces, including that of the Rosary, redesigned over the centuries as evidenced by its columns with heterogeneous sculptures. A painting by Jean Gourdier, painted in 1819 and depicting a Descent of the Cross, adorns the third altarpiece, dedicated to the Virgin.

The building thus reflects the artistic and cultural evolutions of the Mayenne, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, while bearing the traces of revolutionary upheavals. Its furniture and architectural heritage makes it a major witness to local religious history.

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