Lyon Cathedral () 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 ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located on Place Saint-Jean in central

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France. The cathedral 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 ...

, and is the seat of the

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

. Begun in 1180 on the ruins of a 6th-century church, it was completed in 1476. Despite its long construction time, it has a relatively consistent architectural style. In 1998, the building, along with other historic sites in the center of Lyon, was inscribed on the UNESCO

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

History

The cathedral was founded by

Saint Pothinus Saint Pothinus (; 87 - c. 177) was the first bishop of Lyon and the first bishop of Gaul. He is first mentioned in a letter attributed to Irenaeus of Lyon. The letter was sent from the Christian communities of Lyon and Vienne to the Roman prov ...

and

Saint Irenaeus Irenaeus ( or ; ; ) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by opposing Gnostic interpret ...

, the first two bishops of Lyon, in the 2nd century. The cathedral is also known as a "Primatiale" because in 1079

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

granted to the archbishop of Lyon the title of Primate of All the Gauls with the legal supremacy over the principal archbishops of the kingdom. It is located in the heart of the old town (''

Vieux Lyon Vieux Lyon (, ) is the largest Renaissance district of Lyon. In 1964, Vieux-Lyon, the city's oldest district, became the first site in France to be protected under the Malraux law to protect France's cultural sites. Covering an area of 424 hecta ...

'') and it backs up to the

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

river, with a large plaza in front of it and a metro stop nearby providing easy access to and from the city center. Patiens of Lyon, who was bishop around 450 AD, built a new cathedral, dedicated to

Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

. Later, in the seventh century, a baptistery dedicated to Saint John was constructed as an accessory building to the church. The Church of St. Croix was also near. This location later became the site of the ''Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste''. In 1245, the cathedral hosted the First Council of Lyon. In 1819

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

sketched a study of the cathedral as seen from the heights of the Fourvière Hill."Cathedral of Saint Jean-Baptiste, Lyon, from the Fourvière Hill", Tate
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Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

used the cathedral for the setting of his painting "Ceremony of Ordination at Lyon Cathedral."

Festival of Light

Each December, Lyon holds an annual Festival of Lights. The tradition dates to 1643, when on 8 December the people of Lyon would place a lit candle in the window, a custom still maintained by many residents to this day. During the festival, a choreographed lighting display appears on the façade of the cathedral.

Description

The building is 80 meters long (internally), 20 meters wide at the choir, and 32.5 meters high in the nave. The apse and choir are of Romanesque design; the nave and façade are Gothic. Noteworthy are the two crosses to right and left of the altar, preserved since the

Second Council of Lyon The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arles (in modern France), in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to ...

of 1274 as a symbol of the union of the churches, and the Bourbon chapel, built by the Cardinal Charles II, Duke of Bourbon, and his brother Pierre de Bourbon, son-in-law of

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

, a masterpiece of 15th century sculpture. The cathedral also has the Lyon Astronomical Clock from the 14th century. The cathedral organ was built by Daublaine and Callinet and was installed in 1841 at the end of the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

and had 15 stops. It was rebuilt in 1875 by Merklin-Schütze and given 30 stops, three keyboards of 54 notes and pedals for 27. Until the construction of the

Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière () is a minor basilica in Lyon, France. It was built with private funds between 1872 and 1896 in a dominant position overlooking the city. The site it occupies was once the Roman forum of Trajan, the ''foru ...

, it was the pre-eminent church in Lyon. Renowned organist Edouard Commette served as the resident organist for most of the first half of the 20th century.

Burials

* Cardinal Foulon * Cardinal Gerlier

Gallery

File:Lyon 05 - Primatiale Saint-Jean - PA00117785 - Face.JPG, The front elevation of the cathedral File:Saint-Jean de Lyon.jpg, Interior of the cathedral File:Cath. St Jean (3).JPG, Front elevation of the cathedral by night during Festival of Lights (Lyon) File:Three sights Lyon.JPG, Exterior, overlooked by the

File:Pierre Valdo gargouille cathédrale Saint Jean Lyon.jpg,

Peter Waldo Peter Waldo (; also ''Valdo'', ''Valdes'', ''Waldes''; , ''de Vaux''; ; c. 1140 – c. 1205) was the leader of the Waldensians, a Christian spiritual movement of the Middle Ages. The tradition that his first name was "Peter" can only be traced ...

gargoyle

Sources

* Association Cathédrale de Lyon ''Primatiale Saint John'' n.d.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon Cathedral 5th arrondissement of Lyon Roman Catholic cathedrals in France Roman Catholic churches in Lyon World Heritage Sites in France Articles containing video clips Buildings and structures completed in 1480 Churches completed in the 1480s 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France Churches dedicated to John the Baptist in France Catholic churches dedicated to John the Baptist Cathedrals dedicated to John the Baptist