Ancienne église Saint-Clément - Espace Culturel de la Bionne

The Espace Culturel de la Bionne is housed in the former Église Saint-Clément, known for a long time as the “new church”, with which the inhabitants were not always in agreement.

Gabrielle, Marie, Angéline Taillandier-Rougeyron (1860-1883) donated a large sum of money on her death, as well as a piece of land in the Chenevière district for the construction of a new parish church. The parish council was consulted and proposed rather to extend the Église Sainte-Madeleine, located near the château, and rejected the proposal unanimously. The inhabitants of Châteaugay, especially those in the Chalard district, thought that the new church would be too far out of town. But the family did not give up and was even encouraged by Bishop Boyer. The church was completed in 1887 and dedicated to the Sacré-Cœur. It was strongly criticised, incidents broke out and the building had to be blessed in a small committee. It would never replace the Sainte-Madeleine parish church.

The church was given to the diocese which prohibited any celebrations out of fear of more incidents. In 1894, despite the family’s demands, the town hall still refused to have it recognised as a parish church. It was finally put up for sale at a symbolic price in 1901, then purchased by the municipality in 1923 in order to be demolished. Saved in extremis by the Abbot Bion, a highly-esteemed priest, it was used as a “backup chapel” for families requesting it until 1950. It fell into disuse and was deconsecrated in 1981. Towards the end of the 1980s, volunteers saved the building and restored the stained-glass windows. Renamed “Espace culturel de la Bionne”, it was thereafter used for various events.