The Notre-Dame cathedral and Saint-Privat in Mende

The area is an old site of settlement going up at the age of bronze, but the city strictly speaking dates only from the Middle Ages. (Viculus Mimatensis, drawn from the Mimât Mount where the hermitage of Privat Saint is). the mountain of Gévaudan was a place crowned for the Celts who venerated the goddess-mother.

951 is the date often advanced like that of the constitution of évêché of Mende. Before this one, a church was to rise, according to the habit, above the crypt of Privat Saint for glorifier this martyrdom which caused many pilgrimage in the town of Mende.

Gévaudan, in XIIème century, it was covered with Romance, humble churches for the majority but of an austere beauty, in harmony with this ground.

It was the pope gévaudanais Urbain V who offered to his native diocese the Gothic cathedral. In March 1369, it gives to the future cathedral an invaluable relic: a spine of the crown of Christ that Saint Louis had brought back Holy Land. (I do not tell you the weight of his bags in this poor Louis, with all that it brought back of over there. Fortunately for him, I think that it had carriers…) It gives also the chief of Blaise saint and the reliquaries.

Work of 1369-70 made it possible to build the nave. Many foreign stone masons joined the workmen country: one reconnait the project superintendent Pierre Morel, of Majorque. (It built Chair-God, which has same dimensions that Mende, then one will find it in Lyon and Avignon) and Pierre Juglar. (which built later the Holy Vault of Riom and the palate of the Duke of Berry)

The death of the pope marks the stoppage of the works. During 60 years, the cathedral was reduced to the nave: in the medium, side southern, the furnace bridge of the Holy-Cross, with the desus of the crypt of Privat Saint, the taisseries of the galères of Urbain V decorated the walls; in the cupboard with the relics, one had locked up the Virgin, holy Blaise and the invaluable jewels.

the cathedral was devoted in 1521, just as the monumental bell of the northern tower, baptized “the nonsimilar one of all Christendom”. (larger bell in the world, melted between 1517 and 1521 in Villefort and destroyed at the time of the wars of religion. There remains about it only the leaf. )

Destroyed mainly during the wars of religion, the building was restored in two stages: each time, one sought to join again with the Gothic style. This principle governed the rapid rebuilding which intervened at the beginning of the 17th century - what is an exceptional fact -, but also the important work started of 1868 to 1906, where the architects sought to imitate the Gothic of the XV ème century. One then restored the carved decorations - and sometimes they were restored. The vaults, arched in cradle, were covered with a ribbed vault.

Some dates and figures:

Length: 67 meters, total Width: 29, Height: 25. Apse surrounded by a déambulatoire (not of transept nor of apsidal chapels). The side chapels are rectangular and the two vaults of Notre-Dame and Privat saint are pentagonal.

1105: dedication of the furnace bridge

1308: Urbain V makes build the nave

1452-1467: completion of the nave and construction of the apse.

1508-1516: construction of the two bell-towers

1581: Blackbird destroys most of the nave

1599-1605: rebuilding without ornaments

1846: installation of 9 bells from Avignon

1855: One releases the building in the south by the demolition of the episcopal palate. One remakes the gates north and south in the blazing style

1896-1905: one builds the large porch of entry under the rosette. 

Unmemorable time, the Church of Mende is under the patronage of Privat Saint. In his history of Frank, Gregoire de Tours reports the circumstances of his death and arranges it among the famous saints of Gaules, with Denis of Paris, Saturnin of Toulouse, Martial of Limoges, Martin de Tours, Ferréeol of Vienna, Julien de Brioude…
Saint Privat would have been sent in Gévaudan by Saint Austremoine. He would have been born in Coudes, not far from Clermont.

The dated August 21 one would be that of its martyrdom. Gregoire de Tours locates it at the time of Valérien and Gallien (253-260). In his work on Saint Privat the Remize canon says that it was martyrisé by the bands of Chrocus to the worms year 258. At that time, of Alamans devastated Gévaudan after having ruined Javols. Defense concentrated on the fortress of Grèzes which held in failure the invaders.

Those reflect the hand on Saint Privat taken refuge in the cave of the Mimat Mount. It refused to order the capitulation of its people. Maltreated and pushed with blows of sticks until Mende, one asked him to sacrifice to the idols. On a new refusal, the torturers continued with the supplicier and withdrew themselves, believing their dead victim. Not having been able to obtain the realization of their project, Alamans treated with besieged and left the country. Saint Privat was not long in succumbing and was buried in a crypt of the cathedral of Mende.
Towards 631, its body was transported to Saint Denis close to Paris. Towards 776, it was transferred to Salone in Lorraine. Several localities of the name of Privat Saint, give a report on this stay. Later, a monk of the name of Clocbert brought back it in Gévaudan; on the way of the return of the churches were built under its term in the surroundings of Orleans and Bourges.

Mendois dissimulated the remainders of Privat Saint in the basements of the church Sainte Thècle in the west of the large current bell-tower of the cathedral until 1170, where the bishop Aldebert III of Tournel brought back it in the primitive crypt. In 1579, the wars of religion and later the Revolution made disappear partly its relics. What remains about it is preserved in the church of the Hermitage.
The worship of Privat Saint was always maintained in the diocese of Mende. The book of the “Miracles of St Privat” reports a certain number of extraordinary facts which are allotted to him.

The cave of the Mimat Mount, forever ceased being a attended place of pilgrimage. As of Xlle century the bishop installs there with residence, a chaplain. The various buildings which border it nowadays, constitute a site favourable with meditation and the prayer.
About fifteen parishes lozériennes are honoured with patronage with Privat Saint. The surface of its radiation extends well beyond the diocese. All that marks the credit which still the Saint enjoys that Gévaudan had as an apostle.