Eglise Saint-Martin de Romilly-sur-Seine

The Saint-Martin church in Romilly-sur-Seine was built in 1903 and inaugurated on April 2, 1905. It replaced a 16th-century church on the present-day Place des Martyrs de la Libération, 200 meters from the current site, which was falling into ruin and was destroyed in 1905.
The current church remains unfinished. It comprises a nave with aisles, a wide transept and a choir with a generously dimensioned three-sided apse. The nave was to have had five bays, spanning the entire current parking lot, but due to lack of funds, only one bay was built, which was closed off by a blind wall serving as a façade. As the bell tower could not be erected, the bells of the former church were installed in a bellringer?s house, which has now disappeared, and then placed on the 17 m-high concrete bell tower built in 1971, still visible today on the north side at the level of the west facade.

The building was constructed in the Gothic style of the early 13th century. The glazed decoration was inherited from the destroyed former church. It comprises a set of stained-glass windows by the Nancy workshop of J. Janin, produced around 1885 (upper bays of the apse: Last Supper, Life of Christ, Saint Martin and Saint Louis; lower bays of the nave: Coronation of the Virgin, Saint Nicolas), and other 19th-century stained-glass windows, including two from 1870 by Parisian master glassmakers Erdman and Krémer (lives of saints and the Virgin).

Recently, this largely incomplete ensemble (numerous white-glass windows) was replaced by fourteen windows created by master glassworker Joël MÔNE and the Vitrail Saint-Georges workshop in Lyon. The two largest windows (the Baptism of Christ to the north in blue tones, Christ to the south in red tones), were inaugurated in January 2013 and financed by subscription, each with a surface area of 33 square meters. The remaining twelve 11-square-meter bays were installed in 3-bay increments between 2013 and 2017.

The theme of the fourteen bays is "Water and Light: Principles of Life". With its rainbow-inspired colors, warm colors to the south and cool colors to the north, it inspires visitors to discover this church with its atypical history.
Saint Martin?s Church hosts remarkable works of art

The frescoes in the narthex are by Dom Angélico Surchamp, a monk from the Pierre Qui Vire abbey. On the right, Salve Regina in 2012, and on the left, Esther and Assuerus in 2013.

The 13-stop organ, by Paul Férat, dates from 1883 and has been listed as a historic monument since April 14, 1982.

The Virgin and Child dates from the 16th century and is located on the left side altar. It has been listed since March 30, 1976.

The painted cross above the choir altar is the work of Frère Yves, a monk from the Pierre Qui Vire abbey. It dates from 2001 and depicts the parable of the prodigal son.

Neither the church nor the stained glass windows are protected as historic monuments.

Free tours of the church and stained glass windows are available on request from the Tourist Office during opening hours.

In July and August, tours are organized every Tuesday at 4.30pm.

DATAtourisme France