Timeline

Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The parish church of Saint-Antoine, located north of the village of Saint-Antoine (Gers), was built between the 12th century and the first quarter of the 13th century. It consists of a rectangular nave of six spans completed by a flat bedside, with two lateral chapels pierced at the fourth span. Its western gate, surmounted by a bell tower-wall, presents a homogeneous construction in medium size stone apparatus. The building is marked by the transition between Romanesque forms and Gothic elements, especially visible in the capitals of the portal.

The church is linked to the Antonine Order, founded in 1090 and established in the Midi de la France in the 12th century. The Commanderie de Toulouse, the mother house of the order, establishes an annex to Saint-Antoine, located on the road between Lectoure and Agen, where a hospital was created. In 1204, after a gift, the order rebuilt the church, mixing Romanesque and ogival influences. The polylobed tympanum of the portal, rare in Gers, could be explained by the proximity of a road to Compostela, frequented by pilgrims. It was rebuilt in the 18th century, and the interior was redesigned in the 19th century, while ancient murals were discovered under later layers.

The history of the church is also marked by institutional changes: in 1777 the Antonine Order was abolished by Pope Pius VI, and his property was transferred to the knights of Malta. The religious finally left the command office in 1785. During the Revolution, property became national before being redeemed by the inhabitants. Partially classified Historical monument since 1963, the church was fully registered in 2016. Its portal, perhaps unique in the region, and its flamboyant Gothic windows (15th century) testify to its architectural evolution.

The first span of the church was rebuilt in the second half of the 15th century, when the flamboyant Gothic windows were also added to the south wall. The upper part of the bell tower and some foothills were redone on an indefinite date. Today owned by the municipality, the church retains traces of its hospitable and religious past, while illustrating the architectural and political transformations that marked the southwest of France from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

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