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Origin and history

The church Saint-Martin de Saint-Martin-en-Gâtinois, located in the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, succeeds a chapel built in 1120, which became parish church in 1271. It is now part of the Diocese of Autun and the parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste-des-Trois-Rivières, with its headquarters in Verdun-sur-le-Doubs. His term is dedicated to Saint Martin, like fifty-six other churches in the diocese.

The choir, of Romanesque origin, retained its original character despite the collapse of its vault, subsequently consolidated by warheads to support a new structure. The flat bedside is pierced by a lanceolate bay, while two small Romanesque bays illuminate the south side. The massive transept, supporting the bell tower, rests on square pillars to the west and piles committed to the east, on the chorus side.

The nave, probably rebuilt in 1790, was capped with large windows replacing the old Romanesque bays. The building houses remarkable furniture, including an 1826 painting depicting Saint Martin blessing the faithful, painted by Auguste Marie Joseph de La Rue, Count of Mareilles, and restored in 2019. Under the porch is the tomb of Abbé Joseph Girard (1891), carved by Vachet.

Among the historical elements, a votive plaque recalls the gift of a pre (old agrarian measure) by the wife of a local lord, in exchange for seasonal Masses and invocations to the Virgin. A 13th century bentier remains in the northwest corner of the nave. The church remains an active Catholic place of worship, assigned to the parish under the law of 1905.

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