Abbey of Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux
Abbaye Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux / Sanctae Crucis / Sancta Crux Burdegalensis
(Bordeaux, Gironde)
The Abbey of Sainte-Croix has ancient origins. It is believed that a monastic establishment already existed on this site as early as the 6th century, although there is no documentary evidence until the year 643, when a tombstone links it to Saint Mummolus († 678), traditionally considered abbot of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (Loiret). According to tradition, Mummolus died here, where he was buried and venerated.
This first monastery was destroyed by a Saracen raid. It was restored during the Carolingian period but was again ruined in the 9th century, this time due to a Norman invasion. The monastery of Sainte-Croix was rebuilt thanks to the intervention of Count William Sancho of Gascony (977-996), who, in addition to endowing and protecting it, introduced the Rule of Saint Benedict. The abbey became an important centre of power, with an extensive network of dependent priories, such as Saint-Macaire and Notre-Dame de Soulac.
During the 13th century, the abbey experienced a period of great splendour. From 1302 onward, the monastery, which until then had been located outside the city walls, became enclosed within the new fortified perimeter and was better protected. The vitality of the monastic community was curtailed with the introduction of the commendatory system: in 1435, the first abbot of this period, Henri-François Cavier, was appointed. This system led to significant relaxation of discipline and neglect of the buildings, which deeply affected the monastic complex. In 1627, the Congregation of Saint-Maur began a monastic restoration and also undertook the construction of new dependencies.
Following the French Revolution, between 1794 and 1887, the monastery housed a hospice, and since 1880 it has served as the seat of the School of Fine Arts. Some structures, such as the cloister, were lost. Regarding the church, it acquired the exclusive status of a parish church and suffered the effects of excessive restorations, which altered the appearance of its façade and decoration.
Inscription of Saint Mummolus, now lost
Illustration from Histoire de l'abbaye Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux (1910)
Monasticon Gallicanum
Bibliothèque nationale de France
Photo by Yowa, on Wikimedia
Engraving published in Excursions daguerriennes (1840-43)
Bibliothèque nationale de France
According to Armorial général de France, 18th century
Bibliothèque nationale de France
- BEAUNIER, Dom (1910). Abbayes et prieurés de l'ancienne France. Vol. 3: Auch, Bordeaux. Abbaye de Ligugé
- BRUTAILS, Jean-Auguste (1912). Les vieilles églises de la Gironde. Bordeus: Feret et Fils
- CHAULIAC, A. (1910). Histoire de l'abbaye Sainte-Croix de Bordeaux. Ligugé, París
- COTTINEAU, Laurent-Henri (1936). Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et prieurés. Vol. 1. Mâcon: Protat
- DUBOURG-NOVES, Pierre (1969). Guyenne romane. La Pierre-qui-Vire: Zodiaque
- MASSON, André (1941). Église Sainte-Croix. Congrès rchéologique de France. CII session. Bordeaux el Bayonne. París: Picard
- PARDIAC, Jean-Baptiste (1855). Saint Mommolin, patron des Bordelais. Bordeus: Ragot
- PEIGNÉ-DELACOURT, Achille (1877). Monasticon Gallicanum. Paris: G. Chamerot
- SAINT-MAUR, Congregació de (1720). Gallia Christiana in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. 2. París: Typographia Regia
The Church of Sainte-Croix is located in the centre of Bordeaux, near the Garonne River