L'église Saint Lambert

Located in the heart of the fortified village, today's Romanesque church is a former castral chapel served from the 12th century by the Benedictine monks of Saint-Marcel-lès-Sauzet.

This small medieval chapel, built around 1100, stands amidst the ruins. It must have been built by the first local lords, who had no chapel to worship in and had to travel to Saint Marcel each time to hear mass and receive the body of Christ. The style of the chapel is reminiscent of the Benedictine monks, for for many years it was served by the monks of Saint-Marcel-lès-Sauzet and depended on their priory and parish. It was also used by all village inhabitants for public worship, and received foundations and donations, the oldest dating back to 1308. If you look closely, you'll see that only the steeple is not primitive, as the original was burnt down and demolished during the Wars of Religion. It dates from around 1630, and inside, a large archway with a grille connects the two buildings. Beautiful stained-glass windows of St Lambert (patron saint) and St Hubert, and a renovated painting of the Virgin of the 7 Sorrows.
The church bells were replaced several times. Before the penitents' chapel was built, there was only one bell, dating from 1506. The large bell was broken in 1713 during a baptism, and the small one was christened in 1807 and 1838 respectively.
The Penitents
In 1670, several Catholic inhabitants of Sauzet begged the bishop of Valence to allow them to establish a Confrérie de Pénitents du Saint Sacrement on land they had acquired from demoiselle Catherine Malgras in 1671. The Diary of the Penitents of Sauzet notes that from 1670 to 1786, this brotherhood had not only a chapel, a bell tower and a sacristy, but also much more important furnishings for worship than the parish church, and that its chaplain was usually taken from among the monks of the Récollets de Montélimar. The penitents still wished to attend services, and the chapel was made to communicate with the church by opening the large arch, which was fitted with a large grille similar to that used in convents. She was authorized to bury her confreres in a vault built into the chapel (1697).
From the very first year of their foundation, the Sauzet Penitents got into the habit of lending the parish, first their canopy, then the sacred vases and ornaments that the parish was increasingly lacking. Revolutionary decrees, which placed all clergy property at the disposal of the Nation, deprived the Penitents of their right of ownership over the chapel, but decrees published at the beginning of the 17th century restored ownership to the Fabrique (a group of laymen who managed the property). The former Penitents, reconstituted as a parish brotherhood, retained use of the chapel but could not own it. They will be the Fabrique's voluntary servants for worship ceremonies.