Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Basilica of St Anthony of Padua, built between 1238 and 1310, is one of the largest churches in the world and is visited annually by more than 6.5 million pilgrims. In a heterogeneous style (Romanesque, Byzantine, Gothic), the building houses the relics of Saint Anthony of Padua and his tomb.

The Saint-Séverin church was founded in the 11th century. In the 19th century, the architect Pierre-Alexandre Poitevin built a neo-Romanesque façade for the church. In 1910, the excavations of Camille Jullian, the famous historian of Bordeaux, made it possible to discover fragmentary constructions on the site as well as a vast Christian necropolis.

The church has played an important role in the life of Lyon since its construction. The Franciscans who built it on the tomb of Saint Bonaventure himself, who died in Lyon in 1274, were very close to the common people. Very spontaneously, they welcomed in their church the craftsmen and workers of the capital of the Gauls. With the support of Cardinal Barbarin, and the endorsement of Pope Francis, the church was erected as a Minor Basilica. Enlarged in the 15th century, Saint-Bonaventure became the church of the Corporate Confraternities, which financed the construction, from 1471 to 1625, of several chapels that were often well cared for (chapel including Sainte-Geneviève).

The basilica was built on the tomb of Saint Denis and was the burial place of the kings of France after Dagobert's death in 639. From 1135 and even before, Father Suger undertook the reconstruction of the Carolingian church. The harmonic facade, witness of the new Gothic period, was dedicated on June 9, 1140 and the chevet was consecrated in 1144. The whole thing was completed in the 13th century at the time of Saint-Louis.

Place of pilgrimage to Saint Jean-François Régis and Saint Thérèse Couderc, the village of Lalouvesc is famous for its neo-Byzantine style basilica dedicated to Saint Régis, built in the 19th century by the architect of Notre-Dame de Fourvière de Lyon, Pierre Bossan. Inside, the paintings in the choir retrace the history of the pilgrimage, the stained glass windows illustrate the life of Saint Jean-François Régis, and a shrine contains the relics of the saint.

The basilica of Saint-Martin d'Ainay is an old abbey church of Romanesque style built in the 12th century. The basilica is classified as a historical monument since 1840.

The Saint-Sernin basilica of Toulouse is a sanctuary built in the 11th century, and was one of the most important pilgrimage centers in Europe. As an abbey (until the French Revolution), it was served by a canonical community. Saint-Sernin is one of the largest Romanesque churches preserved in Europe, with the Speyer Cathedral in Germany. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.

The Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde is one of the five minor basilicas of Paris. Before its construction from 1846 to 1857, the church of Saint Valère stood, formerly the chapel of a monastery dissolved in 1790. The architects of the church, François-Christian Gau (until 1854) and Théodore Ballu, designed with Sainte-Clotilde what is considered to be the first neo-Gothic style church in Europe.

The Basilica of Saints Boniface and Alexis was built between the 4th and 5th centuries. In 1216, Pope Honorius III (1216-1227) ordered the reconstruction of the complex; the restoration of 1582 was followed by the reconstruction of Tommaso De Marchis in the 1750s and the reconstruction by Somaschi from 1852 to 1860. The modern church retains elements from all these periods. The bell tower is Romanesque, some columns from the church of Honorius are present in the eastern apse of the modern church, the portico is medieval; the 16th-century façade, reworked by De Marchis, highlights the medieval portico.

The Basilica of Saints John and Paul was first erected in 398. This original church was damaged during the sack of Rome (410), then by an earthquake in 442 and was finally sacked by the Normans in 1084. The building was continually remodelled from the 11th century onwards and the building had its present appearance in 1951 when Cardinal Franz Joseph Spellman had its early Christian façade restored.