Tradition attributes the construction of a church here to St Agricol, a C7th Bishop of Avignon. The present building is early C14th when Pope John XXII financed the building of a collegiate church to hold the relics of St Agricola.
The church was renovated in the C15th when the nave was lengthened and the facade and forecourt were added.
It was restored after the French revolution and was the Cathedral for a short time while Notre-Dame des Doms Cathedral was waiting to be restored.
From the outside it is a very plain stone building with the Annunciation above the west door.
It is unusual as it is the only church from the 1300s to have been built with arcades and side aisles. These have a series of side altars built along the walls. Some have the remains of wall paintings around the arches.
At the back of the north aisle is the Baptistry chapel with a heavily carved marble font.
At the end of the south transept is a large stone reredos of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
The C18th Baroque altar contains the relics St Agricola. Above is a C16th painting of the Assumption of the Virgin.
The church is also memorable for the very modern and unusual Stations of the Cross on the walls.
I always like visiting churches. You never know what you will find as you open the door and go inside. This isn’t a must see in Avignon and my main memory are the Stations of the Cross on the walls. It was worth a quick visit just to see them.
I visited here on Day 7 of Burgundy, the River Rhone and Provence, a river cruise with Riviera Travel.
My full account with all the pictures can be found “here.”:http://wasleys.org.uk/eleanor/otherholidays/rhone/index.html
