Guided Tour | In the Footsteps of Saint-Alpinien: Between Legend and Reality

Alpinien: what a strange name, long gone from the calendar of saints. Yet, since the Middle Ages, this name has been given to hundreds of newborns in Castelsarrasin.
The Genealogical Assistance Association of Tarn-et-Garonne has looked into this mysterious phenomenon and will present the results of its research during this guided tour.
Since April 6, 1279, the date of the arrival of Alpinien's relics in Castelsarrasin, his cult has continued to grow, attracting thousands of pilgrims every April 26, the date of his death according to tradition.
The Association for the Preservation of Castelsarrasin Heritage will present an exceptional testimony of this devotion: the xylographic plate that was used to print posters for the pilgrimage of Saint-Alpinien. Dated from the 18th century, this wooden object, like a "relic," is now protected as a historical monument.

ABOUT THE LOCATION
Saint-Sauveur Church - Place de la Raison in Castelsarrasin
Possession of Moissac, Saint-Sauveur was a flourishing priory whose church, rebuilt between 1254 and 1271, is one of the milestones of early Gothic architecture in Languedoc. A transitional building with three naves, a slightly projecting transept, and a flat chevet, it features ribbed and transverse barrel vaults. To the south of the church, the priory was built around a cloister and the prior's house. Around 1500, the choir was extended with a polygonal apse, chapels were added, and the north façade was pierced with a flamboyant portal. The priory disappeared at the end of the 18th century. Used to house the Temple of Reason between 1793 and 1795, the church was later returned to worship. Numerous transformations took place during the 19th century: tiling in 1814; renewal of the glazing; creation by Loubens of a baldachin for the high altar; interventions on the chapels of the Virgin and Saint-Alpinien...

Prices: Free.

Contact Information:
Phone: 05 63 32 78 10
Email: sylvie.vialatte@ville-castelsarrasin.fr

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