The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (; ) is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral, and a national monument of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, located in the town of

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; ; ) is a former regions of France, administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It comprised five departments o ...

. It is dedicated to

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. Construction of the cathedral was begun in 1324 by King Sancho of Majorca, and later finished in the 15th century. It replaced the cathedral of Elna, and therefore was at first the seat of the

Bishop of Elne The Diocese of Perpignan–Elne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Elnensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Perpignan–Elne''; Catalan: ''Bisbat de Perpinyà–Elna'') is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France.Bishop of Perpignan–Elne.

Description

The cathedral was built in the Catalan Gothic style, because of its association with the

Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca (, ; ; ; ) was an insular realm off the east coast of modern day Spain, which included the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The islands were conquered from the Almohad Caliphate by James I of Aragon, ...

. It has a wide nave (80 meters long, 18 m wide, and 26 m tall) made of seven cross-vaults, and features a short

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

and apse, whose

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

features seven keys. The cathedral's western façade was never finished. When being restored in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Gothic window of the façade was rebuilt, as it had previously been substituted by a simple rectangular opening. The façade also features a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

and clock-tower, which date from the 18th century. In the 19th century tuning bells was re-invented. In Perpignan is the first

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

with tuned bells by Amédée Bollée and sons.

Campo Santo

The ''Campo Santo'' (or Saint-Jean cloister), on the south side of the cathedral, was the urban cemetery of Perpignan. It is the oldest and largest medieval cemetery surviving in France. Its construction probably began as early as 1298, in any case before 1302 (the date on the tombstone of the

hebdomadary The hebdomadarian or hebdomadary (from Greek ἑβδομάς ''hebdomás'', Latin ''hebdomada'', "week") is a member of a monastic convent who is appointed by the superior to begin and intone those parts of the Liturgy of the hours which are to b ...

Guillem Jorda, "initiator of the work of the cloister"), and continued in the first half of the 14th century. After the Revolution, cemeteries were moved out of cities. In 1825 the western gallery of the cloister was demolished to build a diocesan seminary which later became gendarmerie barracks. The cloister was restored in 1984–91. Today, only the north, east and south sides of the walls remain. In addition, five niche tombs on the west side have been restored. Numerous elements of sculptures (burial stones, low reliefs) can be seen in the niche tombs. A funerary chapel opens in the east side. The simple skylight galleries (wooden poles carrying the cover, with pillars at the corners), which surrounded the cloister disappeared at the beginning of the 19th century; during the restoration some elements from them were found and moved to the Convent of the Minimes in Perpignan for storage.

References

External links

Monum.fr entry for Perpignan Cathedral

Location
15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France Basilica churches in France Roman Catholic cathedrals in France Churches in Pyrénées-Orientales

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Monuments historiques of Pyrénées-Orientales Churches dedicated to John the Baptist in France Catholic churches dedicated to John the Baptist Cathedrals dedicated to John the Baptist {{France-RC-cathedral-stub