St. Vincent Church, Moussy-le-Neuf

The Saint-Vincent church is a Catholic parish church located in Moussy-le-Neuf, France. It has some elements from the beginning of the 13th century, but was almost entirely rebuilt in the 16th century. It is a rather long building, of low height, but entirely vaulted with ogives, and displaying a rustic flamboyant gothic style, with a very simple modenature. Only the chevet is more neat, and has windows with an elaborate filling, characteristic of the end of the 15th and the first third of the 16th century. The vaulting of the nave was made much later, around 1560-1570, and shows Renaissance influences. In the modern period, the portal was rebuilt and the side windows of the aisles were re-drilled. In short, the architecture of the church of Saint Vincent is of little interest: it is its ensemble of 17th and 17th century furniture that makes it a remarkable monument. First of all, the pulpit, the bench, the altars, and above all, the woodwork of the chevet and the apse, which includes three large-format altarpieces and six smaller oil-on-canvas paintings illustrating the martyrdom of St. Vincent, patron saint of the church. There are also wall paintings of various types, including late medieval paintings of the Apostles on the pillars of the nave, and some statues. In addition, the church of Saint Vincent preserves the memory of Saint Opportune, whose relics have been venerated in Moussy-le-Neuf since the 9th century. Practically ruined in 1970, the church was closed to worship in that year, and was almost demolished before being classified as a historical monument by order of February 13, 1979. The restoration was spread over a period of twenty-nine years, from 1981 to 2010, with several long interruptions. The duration of the work is explained both by an insufficient diagnosis at the beginning, and by the completeness and ambition of the restoration, which does not omit any element of the building and the furniture, and restores practically the state of the eighteenth century. Since September 2010, the Saint-Vincent church is once again open for worship. It is affiliated with the West-Goële parish, and Sunday masses are celebrated irregularly, on Sundays at 11:00 am.