Église Saint-Denis-Saint-Jean-Baptiste

Saint-Denis-et-Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church is a Catholic parish church located in Saintines, in the French department of Oise and the region Hauts-de-France. It is a former pilgrimage church, where the faithful came from far away to venerate a relic of St. John the Baptist, brought back from the Crusades by a local lord, and to bathe in the fountain of St. John the Baptist hoping for a cure for their ailments, especially epilepsy. The flamboyant gothic double nave meets the needs of reception at the high points of the pilgrimage, that is, the eight days from the eve of the feast of St. John, June 24 each year. The two naves are separated by large open arcades in the north wall of the old Romanesque nave, dedicated to Saint Denis. The squat bell tower also dates from the Romanesque period, and more precisely from the 1120s. Its base is at the same time the first bay of the Saint Denis choir, and has one of the oldest ribbed vaults in the department. The Romanesque capitals have unfortunately all been mutilated inside the church, but some remain next to the belfry openings. The Romanesque choir was replaced by a small Gothic choir with a flat chevet during the second half of the 13th century, and was soon followed by the chapel of St. John the Baptist, intended to house the relic of the precursor. With the construction of the second nave after 1508, it became a second choir. Overall, the architecture of the church has few remarkable elements, but its rich history makes the building interesting, and it retains an abundance of furniture that testifies to the splendors of the past. Indeed, the church of Saintines is today only one of several small churches of a large parish, and only hosts masses very occasionally. Listed as a historical monument by decree of November 3, 1927, it has been restored and is still very well maintained. It is affiliated with the parish of Saint-Pierre de la Vallée de l'Automne.