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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Labessonnié found its origins in the 13th century, with a first Gothic church built in the heart of the village, then booming as a crossroads between the mountains of Lacaune and the plains of Albigeois. Contiguous to a cemetery, this medieval church, of which there remains only an opening reused in the present building, symbolized the shift of economic power from Montredon Castle to Labessonnié. The wars (Cent Years, Religions) and the lack of maintenance however precipitated its gradual ruin, despite partial repairs in 1666 and the addition of a clock in 1719.

The reconstruction took place in 1841, under the impetus of the parish priest Maffre and the inhabitants, who dismantled the old church to build a new neo-Gothic building by reusing certain stones and interior elements (altitude, pulpit). Inaugurated in 1845, the church was provided with new stained glass windows and a decoration enriched by patrons. The bell tower, struck by lightning in 1886, was replaced by an arrow inaugurated in 1890, while its structure was consolidated in 1947 to avoid collapse. A chestnut lutrin, carved by Pierre-Paul Laclau de Paulin in the 1880s, was classified as a protected art object.

Between 1941 and 1943, artist René Gaillard-Lala, a refugee in Labessonnié, completely renovated the interior under the direction of parish priest Auriol: frescoes of the chapels and the choir, paintings and decorations that remain today. The present church thus retains its outward appearance of 1845, its 20th century frescoes and architectural traces of its medieval past, bearing witness to successive reconstructions linked to historical hazards and local initiatives.

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