Église Saint-Pierre à Changé

The current neo-Gothic church of St Pierre was built between 1869 and 1879 by the architects Renous and Boutreux, as the church rebuilt in the 12th century was too small.

Primitive church and parish church of St Peter :

Its foundation in the first centuries of Christianity by Saint Thuribe, companion of Saint Julien (first bishop of Le Mans) marks the importance of Changé (Cambiacus) in Gallo-Roman times (shell sandstone coffin near the church).

Saint Aldric, bishop of Le Mans in the mid-9th century, founded the original church, which was pillaged and burnt down under Charles the Bald (860-865).

A second church, dedicated to Saint Peter, was built in the Romanesque period around 1100 and served by the Benedictines of Evron. The church has a rubble-vaulted chancel resting on round pillars of Roussard sandstone. The floor of the nave is paved with gravestones, two of which can be seen outside at the chevet (1754). Wall paintings decorating the choir were discovered during work in 1852.

Until the French Revolution, there were three bells, of which only the big one, Marie-Jeanne Geneviève (goddaughter of the Duc de la Trémoille, Count of Laval, patron saint of the parish), blessed in 1754, still exists.
The confessional in the south transept dates from 1767 (date and initials of the parish priest Pierre Rousseau on the ironwork of the door).

The present neo-Gothic church of St Pierre was built between 1869 and 1879 by the architects Renous and Boutreux, as the church rebuilt in the 12th century was too small.
The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 23 September 1869, covering the old church and cemetery. The nave was built in 1870, and the choir and transept in 1871-72. It was completed in 1872 and the nave vaults were finished in 1879 with the installation of an iron frame because the ground was unstable. The tower was never completed, nor was it crowned with the planned stone spire. The stained glass windows were destroyed during the Second World War, and the whole church was restored at the end of the 20th century.

The interior is also in the pure Neo-Gothic style: ribbed vaults on rib crosses, ribs falling on plant capitals and columns with 3 fasces. The furnishings are also in the neo-Gothic style (high altar and altarpiece of Saint Joseph and the Virgin).