Subsequently, the growing importance of the naval arsenal contributed to a demographic boom that required increasing the capacity of the Cathedral, the only church in the city until the beginning of the 19th century. A new extension, including the Chapel of the Relics, was undertaken between 1654 and 1659 under the episcopates of Bishop Jacques Danès de Marly and Bishop Pierre Pingré. The latter consecrated the new Cathedral in 1661. It is now oriented from north to south and its surface area has doubled. This extension made it possible to include a large part of the pre-existing structural work. Thus, the building has three naves of five bays of unequal dimensions: the first, upon entering, is very short and corresponds to the Romanesque side aisle; the second, with a square plan, is the old great Romanesque nave; the third and fourth are narrower, and the volume of the great Romanesque nave is only found in the fifth bay which precedes the choir. The bay of the relic chapel, which supports the dome, already had its dimensions and square plan.
The main drawback of this building is its darkness; the elevation of the central nave does not differ enough from that of the side naves to allow windows to be opened (those visible overlook the attic). Ceremonies were therefore, here more than elsewhere, lit by candlelight.
These successive expansions and rearrangements give it a unique character, with naves of varying sizes, massive walls, and arcades of different styles. From 1696 to 1701, a monumental façade (24 meters long and 19 meters high) was inlaid onto the Romanesque wall where a door had been installed since 1666. The gable is adorned with a simple pointed pediment placed on a cornice surmounting a Corinthian order, as the central nave was not high enough in relation to the side naves to allow for the construction of a second order. Part of the sculpted decoration was damaged or destroyed during the Revolution in 1794 (the statues of Faith and Charity, as well as the bas-reliefs above the side doors, were removed, and the angels on the transom of the main door were disfigured).
In 1730, the bell tower was demolished because it was in such poor condition.
The city organized funding for a new bell tower, the construction of which began in 1737 and was completed in 1740. Like the old one, the new bell tower was falsely symmetrical with the Fos tower, until the latter was upgraded in 1822. The wrought iron bell cage that then topped it was transferred to the bell tower. The four bells, Holy Trinity, Savior, Mary, and Cyprien, have punctuated Toulon's life since 1524.
During the French Revolution, the churches suffered greatly; the Cathedral was transformed into a Temple of Morality, a military equipment store, and a salt warehouse. The Concordat of 1801 abolished the dioceses of Fréjus and Toulon, which were incorporated into the diocese of Aix-en-Provence. In 1802, the Cathedral was returned to worship in a deplorable state and took the name of Sainte-Marie-Majeur Church until 1958, when the see was transferred to Toulon. In 1822, during the Restoration, the Diocese of Fréjus was reestablished and incorporated the Diocese of Toulon, thus corresponding to the Var department as Napoleon Bonaparte had intended.
Illustrious visitors have come to pay their respects in our Cathedral: numerous Counts of Provence, Catherine de Medici, Anne of Austria, several Kings of France (Charles IX, Louis XIV, Charles X), Cardinal Mazarin, the Duke and Duchess of Angoulême, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint John Bosco, Father Lacordaire, and more.
Please come and discover this unique Cathedral, where guided tours are offered every Thursday during the summer: meet at 3 p.m. in front of the reception desk.