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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Cuy, located in Occagnes in Orne, is a religious building dating from the 11th or 12th century. It is characteristic of the first Romanesque art, with architectural elements like the opus spicatum still visible on its bell tower. Originally parish church of the former commune of Cuy (reunited at Occagnes in 1839), it became a dependency of the Abbey of Ardenne in the 13th century, a donation confirmed by the bishop of Sées and the local lord John of Tillié in 1330.

Over the centuries, the church underwent several transformations: the addition of a chapel of the Virgin in the seventeenth century, the installation of retables and the construction of a porch in the eighteenth century. In 1802, she lost her parish status to become a simple oratory. Despite maintenance work in the 19th century, particularly under the leadership of the Countess of Choiseul d'Aillancourt, the building deteriorated in the 20th century, threatened with destruction.

Ranked a historic monument in 1970, the church was saved by a local association created in 2003. Restoration campaigns (roof, frame, masonry) took place between 1964 and 2011, allowing its preservation. Today, it bears witness to the Norman Romanesque heritage and the religious history of the region, despite a reduced use since the 19th century.

Its architecture combines an apparent nave, a vaulted choir in a cradle, and medieval traces such as blind bays or a clogged door. The furniture, partially modified in the 18th and 19th centuries, reflects liturgical and local developments, while its bell tower and porch recall its central role in the rural community of the past.

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