Basilique Sainte-Maxellende de Caudry, Gothic Revival minor basilica in Caudry, France.
The Sainte-Maxellende basilica is a Gothic Revival church building in Caudry featuring a prominent bell tower and a cross-shaped floor plan with side aisles. Two dedicated chapels sit within the transept area, each serving different devotional purposes for visitors.
Built between 1887 and 1890 to the plans of Lille architect Louis Marie Cordonnier, the church replaced an earlier building and was dedicated to Saint Maxellende, a young woman from Caudry killed by her suitor Harduin d'Amerval in the 7th century. It became a pilgrimage site for the blind and visually impaired and was raised to minor basilica by Pope John Paul II on 3 September 1991. The whole church was listed as a monument historique on 25 September 2019, and a three-year renovation began in 2020.
The basilica is named after Maxellende, a young woman from Caudry killed by her suitor Harduin d'Amerval in the 7th century. Her 14th-century reliquary, listed as a monument historique in 1896, is kept in the right-hand transept chapel. The church is a pilgrimage site for blind and visually impaired people, and the stained glass by Charles Lorin of Chartres, made between 1905 and 1940, depicts her life.
The basilica stands on the Place du Général de Gaulle in central Caudry, with the main entrance under the 75 m bell tower. A renovation begun in 2020 was planned for three years, so parts of the building may be under scaffolding. The nave is 72 m long and the aisles 8 m high; the reliquary chapel is in the right arm of the transept.
The two rose windows in the transept were glazed around 1921, each assembled from 4,600 pieces of glass. The stained-glass windows were made by Charles Lorin of Chartres between 1905 and 1946 and depict the life of Saint Maxellende. The high altar of white marble, gilded copper and mosaics won a prize at the Antwerp exhibition of high altars in the 19th century.
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