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Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame de Mirande, originally called the Church of Sainte-Marie, was built between the late 14th and early 15th centuries in a southern Gothic style. It was integrated into the maze plan of the Mirande bastide and also served as a defensive reduction thanks to its 35-metre quadrangular bell tower, with five turrets and a terrace communicating with the attic. Its architecture, marked by a unique nave of 38 meters without transept and a polygonal apse, reflects the Languedocian influence in Gascony. Later added bow-buttons span the Bishop's street to support the bell tower, forming a monumental access porch.

The construction was initiated by the Abbé de Berdoues and the Count of Astarac, co-teachers of Mirande. In 1410, during the Great Schism of the West, the pope briefly raised the church to the rank of cathedral for the Cistercian abbey of Berdoues, although this status was revoked three years later. After the destruction of the church of Saint John of Lézian in the 16th century, it housed rich furniture, including a black and yellow marble altar-tombe (classified in 1981) and a painting of the Assumption attributed to Antoine Coypel, both transferred from Berdoues Abbey after its demolition during the Revolution.

The building, classified as a historic monument in 1921, retains defensive elements such as a terrace accessible by a corbelled staircase, reflecting its dual religious and military role. In the 19th century, renovation works (1860-1902) modernized the interior without altering its exterior silhouette. Among his treasures are a 16th century stained glass window attributed to Arnaud de Moles, a cross road by Louis Boulanger, and a May de Notre-Dame de Paris (1680), rediscovered in 2007. Recent restorations (2015-2016), supported by public grants and subscriptions, aim to preserve this emblematic heritage of Gers.

The church also illustrates local history, as evidenced by the funeral of actor Jacques Dufilho in 2005. Its furniture, including 19th-century stalls and organ, as well as its hybrid architecture (religious and defensive), make it a unique example of the adaptation of medieval bastids to the spiritual and strategic needs of their times.

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