Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse

Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse is in Toulouse, Occitanie, France and is a monumental Romanesque pilgrimage basilica on the Via Tolosana, built around the cult and relics of Toulouse’s first bishop, St. Saturnin.. The Basilica of Saint-Sernin is dedicated to Saturnin, or Sernin, remembered as the first bishop of Toulouse and a 3rd-century martyr.

The present church was built between the 11th and 13th centuries. Its large Romanesque plan was conceived to receive pilgrims and facilitate devotion to relics on the route toward Santiago de Compostela. One of Europe’s largest surviving Romanesque churches, designed with an ambulatory and radiating chapels for pilgrimage circulation.

Its documented heritage context includes Major Romanesque pilgrimage church; it is also recorded as Component of Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France — World Heritage Site (1998). The basilica preserves and venerates relics attributed to St. Saturnin and numerous other saints. These identifications form part of Christian relic tradition. Religious life or devotional practice associated with the site includes Mass, relic veneration, and pilgrim prayer.