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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Sainte-Madeleine church in Castéra-Lectourois is a Catholic religious building located in the Gers department in the Occitan region. Built at the edge of the 15th and 16th centuries, it embodies the late southern Gothic style, with a unique nave, a pentagonal choir and side chapels. Its settlement at the western end of the village, on the edge of a rocky spur, bears witness to its past defensive role, the northern wall being once part of the castelnau ramparts.

The church is distinguished by its flamboyant Gothic portal, adorned with braided braces, hooks and florets, as well as by its hanging keyed doghead vaults. The veins of the arches, resting on capitals carved of foliage, pampres and clusters of grapes, underline the homogeneity of its architecture, preserved despite centuries. The bell tower, originally modest, was raised from one floor in the 19th century, while the vaults, collapsed before the 19th century, were replaced by a walled ceiling, then rebuilt at the hinge of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Classified as a Historic Monument in 1986, the church houses remarkable furniture, including a marble benigner, richly decorated baptismal fonts, and three golden wooden statues depicting Saint Mary Magdalene, the Assumption and Saint Roch. Its decoration, especially that of the portal, evokes that of the cathedral Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais de Lectoure, suggesting a contemporaneity and a common influence, attributed to the art of the masterpiece Mathieu Reguaneau. Recent restorations, at the beginning of the 21st century, aim to preserve this fragile building, threatened by its location above the Gers valley.

The first mention of the parish church dates back to 1294, but the present building, characterized by its chapels inserted between the foothills and its absence of apparent external foothills, dates mostly from the 15th and 16th centuries. Its history reflects the successive adaptations, from its medieval defensive function to its current role as a cultural and religious heritage, open to visit in the communal setting.

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