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Origin and history

The Saint-Sauveur Abbey of Figeac, founded in 838 by Pépin I of Aquitaine at the request of the abbey of Conques, was intended to replace the destroyed monastery of Jonant. The monks of Figeac, refusing the guardianship of Conques, falsified documents to date their foundation of 755 under Pépin the Short, triggering a rivalry marked by thefts of relics, such as those of Saint Vivien and Saint Marcel brought back from Saints under Abbé Aymar. In 988 Abbé Adacius enlarged the church before his death, but the conflict persisted until 1074, when Figeac elected Saint Hugues de Cluny as abbot to free himself from Conques.

The decision of Pope Urban II in 1096 rattacha definitively Figeac in Cluny, bringing a century of stability and major restorations at the end of the 12th century. However, in the 13th century, tensions broke out between the abbey and the consuls of Figeac, refusing to finance the monks. This crisis saggravated until 1314, when Cluny regained control, leading in 1329 to the elevation of the relics of Saint Saviour and Saint Marcel. In the 15th century, the abbey, in ruins after the Hundred Years' War, was partially consolidated in 1438, but its dependence on Cluny pushed Figeac to demand its direct attachment to the Holy See in 1496.

The Wars of Religion marked a tragic turning point: in 1576 the Calvinists took Figeac and partially destroyed the abbey in 1577, causing the vaults and pillars to collapse. The reconstruction began in 1625, mixing Romanesque and Gothic styles in anarchic fashion, with Romanesque capitals laid on Gothic columns. The work lasted until the 18th century, including the reconstruction of the dome around 1720. The French Revolution probably destroyed the cloister and monastic buildings, but the capital hall subsisted, transformed into a chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Pitié in 1883.

Ranked a historic monument in 1840, the church underwent controversial restorations in the nineteenth century, such as the destruction of the western massif in 1823 by architect Charles Malo, saving only a few capitals. Between 1869 and 1900, Abbé Massabe launched a donation-funded restoration campaign. In 1917, the collapse of the dome damaged part of the nave, requiring further repairs. Today, the church retains traces of its multiple reconstructions, reflecting its troubled history between religious power, urban conflicts and wars.

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