Saint Sacerdos Cathedral, Sarlat

Saint Sacerdos Cathedral, Sarlat

Sarlat's Saint-Sacerdos cathedral was listed as a historic monument in 1840.

The sanctuary is dedicated to Saint Sacerdos, born in Calviac, a village near Sarlat, who was bishop of Limoges in the 8th century.

The diocese of Sarlat was created in 1317 following the victory of the royal forces over the Albigensian Cathar armies. It was at this time that Pope John XXII, former bishop of Cahors, appointed the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Sacerdos as the city's new bishop. The former Romanesque abbey church became the diocesan cathedral.

A modern reconstruction was undertaken in 1504 by Bishop Armand de Gontaud-Biron. The work was long and intermittent, due to lack of funds, wars and epidemics. It was only completed a century and a half later, around 1685, with the construction of the vaults, under the episcopacy of François III de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon.

As with most ancient religious monuments, the building was extensively altered, reusing some of the Romanesque parts of the former abbey church. The overall style of the cathedral is Gothic. The Romanesque bell tower dates back to the 12th century and is the oldest part of the building. It is the successor to a Carolingian construction and has undergone a number of changes: the top floor dates from the 17th century and the bulbous belfry from the 18th century, replacing the spire destroyed by lightning.

Above the portal, the organ on the gallery is the work of Jean-François l'Epine.

Under the Concordat of 1801, the diocese of Sarlat was suppressed and its territory integrated into the diocese of Périgueux.

Saint Sacerdos Cathedral can be visited free of charge every day outside service times.