With its cloister and Chapter House, this was one of the most important religious buildings in the Comminges.
It was home to a ‘College’ of ‘Canons Ordinary’, a community founded by Bishop Bertrand.
The 11th Century Romanesque church, built on the typical Pyrenean plan as a basilica with three naves, stands on the site of an earlier construction.
It was extended in the 12th and 13th Centuries with the construction of the cloister and Chapter House. The lateral North Door was added in the 16th Century.
The building and its belfry were restored in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
Not to be missed inside the College Church:
• the nave,
• the galleries,
• the collection of Romanesque capitals,
• the organ,
• the Aubusson tapestries
The most interesting of the decorated capitals, the work of master-craftsmen from Aragon, are in the sanctuary. They represent the Fall of Adam and Eve, scenes from medieval life, and monstrous animals, among other scenes.
Sculptors who came later from the workshops of Toulouse carved the leafy capitals in the nave and at the entrance.
The case:
• The case seen today dates from before 1662.
• It is a large and imposing piece in oak and lime wood, in the style of Louis XIV. It was listed as a Historic Monument in 1980.
The instrument:
• Built by Dominique CAVAILLE-COLL in 1831.
• Restored in 1875.
• Listed as a Historic Monument in 1971 and restored between 1981 and 1984.
• The square, 47m-high belfry currently has the 36 bells of the 19th Century carillon, modified in 1980 and 1984.
• The oldest bell, an ‘F sharp’, dates from 1356. It weighs 800 kg and is listed as a Historic Monument.
• The largest, the GAUDENSE bell, weighs 1200kg.
• The smallest, 20kg, sounds the ‘D’.
• The carillon’s music is heard across the city centre everyday.
These were woven at the Manufacture Royale d'Aubusson, probably during the second half of the 18th Century.
Two tapestries were stolen from the Collegiate Church in the night of 20 December 1989 but were discovered in the United States and reinstated on 26 September 1997 on National Heritage Weekend.
The Martyrdom of St Gaudens: height 3.20m - width 7.40m.
All the events surrounding the legend of the martyrdom of St Gaudens are brought together in this tapestry.
In the centre, the kneeling figure of the young shepherd, Gaudens, is decapitated by a soldier at a site outside the city named ‘La Caoue’.
On the right, in the middle ground, there flows the ‘Miraculous’ spring at la Caoue. A small figure is seen walking towards the town, carrying his head in his hands. This is none other than the young Gaudens.
In the background there is a schematised panoramic view of the city of Saint Gaudens as it was in about 1760.
The Triumph of Faith: height 4m - width 7.25m
In the 18th Century, the Aubusson workshops copied many of the themes from the cycle of Rubens designs known as The Triumph of the Eucharist, which can be seen in Madrid.
In this particular tapestry, Faith, personified by a female figure with a martial air seated on a ‘chariot of triumph’ pulled by three horses, is hunting down wailing unbelievers and heretics and crushing them beneath the wheels of her chariot.
The Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor - height 4.85m - width 2.85m
This represents a scene from the Gospels.
In the centre, Jesus has brought Peter, James and John up Mount Tabor and now appears suddenly before them on a cloud in a blinding light, with Moses on his right hand and Elias on his left.
Peter, half-standing, is speaking to Jesus while John, to his right, is kneeling.
The words that Peter is saying to Jesus are woven above his head:
"Lord, it is good for us to be here."
