Description of the attraction
The Celestine Church as it can be seen today was built in the 15th century. Its construction began in 1396 and lasted for almost a hundred years. Initially, there was a modest wooden chapel built over the burial place of St. Peter of Luxembourg. In honor of this burial, the area around the chapel was named - Place de Corp-Sainte (Square of the Holy Relics).
Peter of Luxemburg was famous for becoming a high-ranking churchman in his youth - at the age of 15 he was already bishop of Metz, then soon received the title of cardinal, and at 18 (1387) he died of consumption. After his burial in Avignon, rumors spread about the miraculousness of the cardinal's remains, and the Celestine monks decided to build a monastery over the grave. Peter of Luxembourg was numbered among the saints only in 1527, and before that his relics were venerated even without official recognition of their holiness by the Church.
Later, next to the Celestine church, a chapel was built in honor of another saint - Benezet, one of the most revered in Avignon. According to local legend, in earthly life, Benezet was a simple shepherd to whom Christ appeared and ordered to build a bridge across the Rhone in Avignon. When the inhabitants of the city demanded from Benezet to prove to them his chosenness and to show some kind of miracle, he carried a huge stone across the whole city to the river and marked a place for them to build. Benezet lived in the 12th century and was canonized in the 14th century.
The Celestine Church possessed many values - works of art and religious utensils, which were burned during the French Revolution, and the church itself was turned into a barracks. The surviving relics of the Celestines found shelter in other churches of Avignon - for example, the relics of Saint Benezet rest in the Church of Saint Adeodat.
Currently, the church courtyard is used as a theater stage for the annual July festival.
