ST. CHARLES CATHEDRAL

In 1825, elected officials asked the daughter of Louis XVI, niece of Charles X (hence the name Saint-Charles Cathedral), to intercede on their behalf to build a new parish. The Revolution of 1830 delayed the work, and it wasn't until November 1912 that the foundation stone was laid on the eve of Saint Charles' Day. Work was interrupted by the First World War. It was not until 1923 that the church was inaugurated, and 1971 that it was erected as a cathedral. It was designed by the architects Bossan, Giniez and Boisson. Disoriented, it has a Latin cross plan with transept, triple nave, bell tower on the façade, apse with ambulatory opening onto a west-facing chapel. The cathedral is imposing. Inside, remarkable mosaics and stained-glass windows by Maumejean depict the Christian virtues, as well as representations of the Stations of the Cross revealed by gilded copper engravings, and a Carrara marble baptismal font with a gilded copper cover adorned with Bossan's cross with the divine lamb at its center. The Convers organ was installed in 1924. Another original feature of the cathedral is the large tabernacle by Sainte-Marie Perrin, a unique piece of religious art.