Our Blog - Eglise Notre Dame du Taur, Toulouse, France

While the church is called "Notre Dame du Taur", I will start this blog with a little history about Saint Saturnin. He was born in the 3rd century and was the first Bishop of Toulouse. The story is that a set of pagan priests grabbed him and when he wouldn't denounce his own faith, they tied his feet to a bull which dragged him through the main street of Toulouse, from where Place Esquirol is today, up through today's current Place du Capitole and started up rue du Taur (which means, street of the bull). Just after leaving the Place up rue du Taur, the body of the dead Saint detached from the bull. His body was buried where it fell, and an oratory was constructed. Toulouse being an important stage on one of the main routes of pilgrimage to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela, pilgrims would pause to honor the saint at his tomb. Eventually, their numbers became so great that in the 11th century, a larger church was built to accommodate them, the present-day Basilica of Saint-Sernin, to which Saturnin's bones were also transferred.

Another interesting piece of trivia is that the bull continued to run after Saint Saturnin was detached, and the bull was eventually killed near the current train station, which is called Gare Matabiau. The name "Matabiau" comes from "matar" (the killing) and "biau" (bull).

The present building, originally called Saint-Sernin du Taur, was constructed between the 14th and 16th centuries. In 1783, a gatehouse in the city wall was demolished, and a statue of the Virgin Mary that had been located in an oratory was moved to this church, which then took the name of Notre-Dame du Taur. It is made from the typical red or pink bricks that the city is known for, and is in the Southern French Gothic style, which is less ornate than Northern Gothic. This is a very similar style to the Convent of the Jacobins in Toulouse. Another design point that is very typical of this area is the "clocher-mur" or bell-tower wall. Instead of a square or round tower, the bells are placed in the wall of the front façade. It is not that easy to get a good picture, since there is not much space around it ... buildings on both sides and it sits on a narrow street.

The Gothic entry portal has the shape of the portal of the church of the neighboring convent of the Cordeliers, also erected at the beginning of the 14th century. It is flanked by two large niches with statues representing Francis of Assisi and an apostle. The original statues disappeared during the French Revolution and these statues from the chapel of Rieux when it was demolished in 1846.

The interior is a bit dark since there aren't very many windows due to where it sits in the city. There is a single aisle under a ribbed vault.

Above the altar in the south chapel can be seen a painting by the 19th-century Toulouse artist Bernard Bénézet, the martyrdom of Saint Saturnin and the Glorification of the Virgin.

This painting, done by Jean-Louis Bézard, is entitled "The Martyrdom of Saint Saturnin" and shows the scene where Saturnin refuses to join the priests and the faithful in the sacrifice of a bull. For his refusal, they decided to attach him to the bull (instead of sacrificing the bull). You can see the bull on the left-side of the painting.

In the 17th century, the walls of the nave were covered with paneling and a monumental pew was installed on either side of the nave. But in 1872, because of the damage caused by the humidity, the woodwork was torn off and revealed the remains of a 14th century fresco, representing the genealogy of Jacob. It is done on 2 levels with 38 figures total.

A couple of small chapels, each with a set of 3 stained-glass windows. One has a statue of Sainte Anne with Mary carrying the Child Jesus, and the other is topped with a pieta.

I mentioned the statue of the Virgin that was moved here from an oratory on the city walls. This statue, named Our Lady of the Rampart, dates from the 16th century. She is dressed in different brocade robes according to the colors of the liturgical calendar.

This last chapel has a painting on the side wall by Bernard Bénézet, representing the death of Saint Joseph, dating from the 19th century.