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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Hilaire de Bignoux, located in the commune of Bignoux in New Aquitaine, is dedicated to Saint Hilaire de Poitiers, the first attested bishop of Poitiers in the fourth century. It was historically dependent on the abbey of Saint-Hilaire-de-la-Celle in Poitiers, before being attached to Montamisé and then to Sèvres after 1789, then restored in 1871.

The reconstruction of the present building began after 1871 and was completed in 1890, following a Romanesque plan in the Latin cross. It includes a three-span nave, a transept, a flat bedside choir and a cradle vault. Inside, there are notable stained glass windows, including a glass window of J. Besnard (1879) representing the apparition of Christ to Saint Marguerite-Marie Alacoque, and a stained glass window of the Virgin of Lourdes from the old swimming pools of Lourdes.

Another stained glass window illustrates the "Miracle of the Avones", linked to Saint Radegonde, founder of the first female monastery in the Christian West in the sixth century. This miracle tells how an oat field concealed its escape to Poitiers. The church is listed in the General Inventory of Cultural Heritage.

The building is located in the centre of the village, near the town hall, and retains decorative elements such as a representation of the Supper on the altar. Its history reflects the religious and architectural evolutions of the region, especially after the French Revolution.

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