Cordeliers Church of Agen

At the time of Saint Francis of Assisi's death in 1226, the Order of Friars Minor had 240 convents, 60 of which were located throughout Aquitaine. Since some of the documents of the Cordeliers convent in Agen were destroyed during the Protestant occupation of the city, the exact date of the first convent's founding is unknown. Father B. Villate wrote in 1715 to the Bishop of Agen, François Hébert, that it was founded in 1291. But elsewhere, we know that the Cordeliers convent was founded after that of the Jacobins and before that of the Carmelites, that is, between 1240 and 1272. Bishop Pierre Jerlandi was buried in the Cordeliers church in 1271. In his will dated July 25, 1262, Amanieu d'Albret bequeathed "als frais Menors d'Agen, dus cens sols." We can therefore assume that the Cordeliers had settled in Agen before 1262. [1] Their first convent was established outside the city walls, near the Saint-Michel gate, probably in front of the Saint-Louis gate, in the enclosure of the Discalced Carmelites where tombs were found by the Discalced Carmelite Fathers, that is to say, between the streets Palissy, Mascaron, Lamouroux and the Garonne. The donations received led to the Cordeliers' convent being called the Golden Convent. For Abbot Barrère, the nickname Doré would not come from the wealth of the convent but from an alteration of the name Dovère which was given by the archbishops of Bourges to several of their houses and monasteries. This would be due to a chapel founded in the 9th century nearby by a Randulphe de Bourges. The church must have been as large as the Jacobin Church because it was here that homage was paid by the nobility and communities of the Agenais to King Edward I of England in 1286.
In 1336, Philip VI of Valois, considering that the Cordeliers convent, leaning against the city walls, could be a danger in the event of a conflict with the King of England, decided to seize it and build a fortress there. He obtained permission from Pope Benedict XII on the condition that a new convent be established within the walls. Demolition of the convent began in 1338. The Friars Minor initially settled near the Church of Notre-Dame-du-Bourg but encountered hostility from the canons of Saint-Étienne Cathedral. No longer having premises in Agen, the Friars Minor appealed to the King of France. His son, Prince Jean, while in Guyenne at the time, had the destroyed convent appraised and ordered them to be paid the estimated value of 5,000 livres tournois. This sum, supplemented by other gifts, allowed them to initially settle in the Saint-Georges Hospital. However, a conflict with the Augustinians, who found them too close to their convent, forced them to move away and settle in 1345 in the Saint-Hilaire district, near the Saint-Georges Gate. To appease the criticism of the canons of Saint-Étienne, the Friars Minor gave them the marble from their first cloister. The construction of their church was completed in 1348, as on that date the Cordeliers obtained permission from the Bishop of Agen, Amanieu de Fargis, to have their cemetery blessed by Brother Philippe (Filippo de Ursone), Bishop of Ajaccio.The church follows the traditional plan of southern Gothic churches. It has a wide, single nave without a transept and is lined with shallow side chapels. It is built in half stone and half brick. It comprises three bays with ribbed vaults. The apse has seven sides. Its most interesting and remarkable feature is the inverted hull-shaped roof structure of a boat.[5] The old Cordeliers church had only a small square bell tower.The church's large windows were fitted with stained-glass windows. They are dated 1869. One of the windows bears the signature of Bordeaux master glassmaker Joseph Villiet.