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Origin and history

The Saint-Sauveur du Rozier monastery was founded in 1075 by Aldebert I of Peyre, bishop of Mende, in the village of Entraygues, renamed Le Rozier because of the roses planted by the monks. Placed under the protection of the Benedictines of the Abbey of Aniane, this monastic foundation soon benefited from donations, including those of the Coseigneurs du Rozier such as Dédoat de Canillac and Pons II de Canillac, Abbé d'Aniane, as well as the lords of Mostuéjouls, who gave way to land and rights.

The present church, mentioned in 1146, was built between 1063 and 1146 by the monks of Aniane according to a three-nave plan, with a bedside adorned with archatures and arched apsidioles in cul-de-four. An outside bell tower was added, and a chapel founded in the early 16th century under its base. The monastery gradually disappeared, leaving the church to become parishioner in the parish of Saint-Frézal, diocese of Mende. Its elongated architecture, typical of monastic buildings, and its five sides of bedside decorated with archatures still bear witness to its Benedictine past.

Listed as a historic monument in 1960, the Saint-Sauveur church is now owned by the municipality of Rozier (Lozère). It preserves medieval traces, such as a broken arched door in the northern collateral, and massifs of masonry separating the sanctuary from the apsidioles. Its history reflects the links between episcopal power, local nobility and Benedictine order in Gevaudan in the Middle Ages.

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