Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Church of St.Cenery, originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was renamed in 1186 in honour of St. Founded in the fourth century by Saint Thuribe, bishop of Le Mans, it was rebuilt from the eleventh century. The choir, redone in the 15th century, and the lateral chapels, added in the 17th century, illustrate its architectural evolution.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the church, in an advanced state of disrepair, underwent important works. In 1906, the menacing frame and bell tower were renovated under the direction of architect Alfred Tessier. The stained glass windows, slate cover and slate walls are also restored, thus preserving the building.

The interior preserves a Romanesque nave of the eleventh century, adorned with a fern leaf apparatus, and two lateral chapels dated 1660 and 1668. The altar retable, in the Lavallois style, was created by François II Houdault between 1646 and 1649. It houses statues of St Peter, St Paul and the Virgin Mary, as well as a central picture depicting the Ascension of Christ.

Two other altarpieces, decorated with paintings by the painter Jean Gourdier (1829), complete the decor. The church also houses statues of Isidore the Labourer, Saint Roch and Saint Barbe. Despite his dedication to Saint Ceneri, no statue represents him.

The 1906 inventory was marked by tensions: the officer, confronted with closed doors and the parish priest's protests, returned with six gendarmes. This episode reflects conflicts related to the law of separation of churches and the state.

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