Basilique Notre-Dame de Ceignac

English translation

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History

The parish church of Ceignac, a village located 5 km north-east of the town of Calmont, was the centre of an important Marian pilgrimage that was reputed locally, probably since the Middle Ages. Its popularity experienced considerable development in the 17th century, following the end of the Wars of Religion, the Counter-Reformation with the renewal of the cult of saints and several plague epidemics. After the defeat of 1870 and the Commune of Paris, pilgrimages were organised throughout France, Lourdes, Notre-Dame de la Salette, Chartres, Paray-le-Monial... and for Aveyron, Notre-Dame de Ceignac. Mgr Bourret (1827-1896) played a decisive role in the renewal of pilgrimages in the department. He obtained from the Pope the privilege of being able to proceed with the coronation of the Miraculous Virgin of Ceignac. On 9 July 1876, the statue was crowned in Rodez with great ceremony, then was carried in procession to Ceignac. The church of Notre-Dame is the result of successive campaigns of work which made it possible to adapt this modest parish church to the significant attendance of the faithful. Two bays of the nave of the primitive church, belonging to a building campaign datable to the 12th century, are partly preserved in the nave. In 1455, the Romanesque chevet is replaced by a new chevet to which an additional bay is adjoined bearing the bell tower; the two lateral chapels are also built. The two vault keystones are carved with harps and cross designs and pommetted pieces, which indicate the family of d'Arpajon, lord of Calmont, who may have partly financed these works. This powerful family. The church of Ceignac has always been richly furnished as it benefited from numerous benefactors such as Cardinal Arnaud de Pélagrue (before 1270-Avignon, 1331) or the Arpajon who chose it as their necropolis. In the early 19th century, the church lacked maintenance and had been stripped of most of its precious objects. However, the statue of the Miraculous Virgin and the reliquary of Notre-Dame were hidden and returned; it appears that the pilgrimage continued even during the revolutionary period. It was not until 1855 that work on the roof which was leaking began; sacristies were added to the chevet. In the early 20th century, it appeared necessary to enlarge the church in order to accommodate a large number of pilgrims. The Ruthénois architect André Boyer delivered in January 1914 a first project for enlargement with an estimated quotation. He proposed to double the nave towards the east, at the location of the old cemetery, moved during the second half of the 19th century. The war of 1914-1918 interrupts the project. In 1926, the enlargement project is revived at the request of the parish priest Father Costes. The architect André Boyer takes up his initial project of an extension to the east of the primitive chevet. He proposes a more compact plan which encompasses the 15th-century chevet. The foundation stone is laid in 1927. He adopts a vocabulary of Gothic inspiration, responding to the architecture of the chevet of the old church. The new part is backed against the old sanctuary with which it communicates through the piercing of the walls of the pentagonal apse

Description

Located 5 km north-east of Calmont, the chief town of the commune, the village of Ceignac is dominated by the imposing sanctuary of Notre-Dame and the former religious institutions which gravitated around it. The western elevation is of great simplicity, pierced only by a portal covered by a depressed segmental arch, framed by two Doric pilasters bearing an entablature and a cornice. The lintel is adorned with a shield engraved with the date 1667; the entablature bears an inscription. The door leaves are adorned with a decoration of coffers, lion masks and acanthus leaves. The "old" church consists of a nave of four bays covered by a slightly broken barrel vault, the transverse arches rest on the capitals of the engaged half-columns. The western bay, added in the years 1665, presents a gallery which communicated directly with the neighbouring presbytery. The 1st and 2nd bays correspond to the oldest part of the church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It is possible that during the construction work of the new chevet in 1455, the Romanesque vault was also rebuilt so that the nave and the chevet are at the same height. The old church contains five chapels. In 1455, a new chevet replaced the Romanesque chevet. The two chapels of the 4th bay were also built during this campaign. Placed in the chevet, the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, covered by a vault with seven sections (carved group the Entombment) was built in the early 16th century. The chapel of Saint Catherine, 3rd southern bay, was founded in 1464 and houses the ex-voto painting the Vow of the city of Rodez. The bell tower rises above the vault of the 4th bay, preceding the chevet. It adopts the form of an irregular octagon, lit by two rows of superimposed pointed arch openings. To enlarge the church, André Boyer proposes to preserve the western façade and the volume of the nave and chevet of the primitive church; he imagines encompassing the Gothic chevet in a double ambulatory. The walls of the Gothic chevet were removed, only the pillars were preserved which makes it possible to see the altar and the nave of the old church. The latter has retained its organisation with its lateral chapels, the new church making it possible to accommodate approximately 300 people. A. Boyer placed the Miraculous Virgin above the new double-sided altar which consists of a simple stone slab borne by eight columns covered with mosaics from the Mauméjean manufactory. To the east, the new church is preceded by a vast façade flanked by two turrets with pinacle terminations with a large portal offering a second access to the building. The 1st ambulatory is covered with rib vaults resting to the west on the pillars of the Gothic chevet; these vaults present the same height as the chevet whereas the 2nd ambulatory is considerably lower. The lower parts are lit by small-sized openings with stained glass having as subject the saints or characters close to the history of the sanctuary. The 2nd ambulatory ends on each side with a semi-circular chapel. The stained glass of the upper register, lighting the 1st ambulatory, have as theme contemporary events: the pilgrimages, the stained glass of the works, the new priests, the stained glass of the Mothers. Two large windows describe with a crowd of characters, to the south the Miracle of 1652 and the Vow of the city Rodez. And to the north, the crowning of the Virgin of 1876