Church of Saint-Martin

The first Christian basilica in Tarbes was probably built at the end of the 4th century. In 844, the Normans ravaged Gascony: the city and its church were destroyed, the episcopal seat abandoned. It was not until the 11th century that a new cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The texts then tell us about the cathedral of Sainte-Marie- de-la-Sède (from the Latin sedes: the seat, i. e. the place of residence of the bishop) or Sainte-Marie-de-Bigorre. The cathedral was completely rebuilt between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th century. The construction site, spread over a hundred years, was built from east to west. The choir and arms of the transept were built in Romanesque style. Along with Saint-Sever-de-Rustan, Saint-Orens-en-Lavedan and Saint-Savin-en-Lavedan, Tarbes Cathedral is one of the four most important Romanesque churches in Bigorre.

The sanctuaries of Lourdes are the largest Catholic pilgrimage centre in France. The origin of this pilgrimage goes back to the vision of Bernadette Soubirous, who declared that she had seen the Virgin eighteen times since 1858. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was built from 1883 to 1889 on the plans of Léopold Hardy and consecrated in 1901. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception was consecrated in 1876; and the Basilica of Saint Pius X in 1958.

Notre-Dame de Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges Cathedral was the cathedral of the diocese of Comminges until 1801, when Pope Pius VII issued the bull Qui Christi Domini dividing the territory of the diocese of Comminges between the archdiocese of Toulouse and the diocese of Bayonne. The cathedral is located on the acropolis of a Celtic oppidum which gave birth to the Roman city of Lugdunum Convenarum, whose ruins stretch across the plain. The invasion of the Vandals in 409 devastated it. The city disappeared in 585 following a conflict between Gondovald, claiming to be the natural son of Clotaire I and King Gontran. It was not until Bertrand de l'Isle, a member of a noble family and canon of Toulouse, appointed bishop of Comminges in 10832, that the city recovered. He re-established community life in the chapter, raised the cathedral and built its cloister. He died in 1123. Recognised as a saint by the crowd of pilgrims at the tomb of Saint Bertrand, he was only recognised as a saint under the pontificate of Clement V. The influx of pilgrims necessitated the enlargement of the cathedral in the second half of the 18th century. The bell tower was built in the 12th century inside the nave.