Saint Sauveur Church - Condé-en-Normandie

Saint Sauveur Church – Condé-en-Normandie

It was originally the chapel of the Château de Condé. Enlarged, altered over several periods, it became a parish church after the Revolution.

Having become very dilapidated, it was rebuilt from 1927 on the initiative of the senior priest, Canon Tullou. The plans were carried out by the Caen architect Eugène Duroy. The neo-Romanesque building, barely completed, was destroyed by Allied bombardments on June 6 and 7, 1944.

After the war, the « Société Coopérative de Reconstruction des Eglises du Calvados » entrusted the reconstruction of Saint-Sauveur to the architect Jean Dubout.
The two corner turrets are knocked down as well as most of the church which still stood. The first stone was blessed on November 3, 1957 by Mgr Jacquemin, Bishop of Bayeux and Lisieux. The new church was then rebuilt, in schist and granite, from the remains, namely the bell tower, the gallery and the foundations. Dubout planned to lengthen the steeple by refining it with an arrow, but it was never built for lack of money. The new church was completed in 1962.

On the facade, we see the first stone of the new church on which is engraved the date of 1957, date of the beginning of the works.

The interior is very sober, the chestnut vault rests on rows of columns and gives an impression of grandeur. On entering the church, a giant shell brought back by Dumont d’Urville serves as a holy water font; it miraculously escaped the bombardments.

The stained glass windows are the work of master glassmakers Bertrand and Daguessau. The apse of the church is decorated with a painting depicting « the miraculous catch » and the 4th Gospels.
A monumental portrait of Blessed François Jamet, beatified by John Paul II on May 10, 1987, can be found on the left side of the church choir. This portrait was blessed by the Pope in Rome and painted by the painter A. Del Vecchio.