This former church, standing at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jean and Rue des Thermes in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, was constructed by the Hospitaliers during the late 13th century, around 1280. Its uses varied from religious gatherings to a prison, before eventually being transformed into a theater during the 19th century. A fire in 1901 ruined the old church, leaving only the portico and its central portal intact.
The church is now listed as a Monument historique, a status it received on November 15, 1926. The portal is composed of two pointed arches separated by a column with a Romanesque capital of large flowers. The tympanum features a Jerusalem cross inscribed in an ornate circle, and the structure is topped by a large pointed arch.
On either side of the portal, the portico continues with series of pointed arches supported by double columns with double Romanesque capitals. These columns likely came from the Jacobins' convent, as a photo from 1895 shows them missing. In 1834, Ariste Pambrun described the church as 'as simple as it is pretty' in his book about Bagnères.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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