Saint Regis Museum

The museum of Saint Régis

It's a funny fellow with friendly airs and big feet who opens the doors of the museum to us. Looking happy, armed with a pilgrim's staff, he guides us through history and beyond!

When the little story joins the Big

The Saint Régis Museum is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in local history.

The Diorama retraces the life of the Saint. Through his epic we immerse ourselves in the social and economic climate of the region four centuries back. This allows us to better understand rural life and certain issues that were the founders of the landscape we inherit today.

An interactive museum  

In the first room we find ourselves facing the contemporaries of the Saint. They are staged and bear witness to their history. Immersed in the bath, we quickly understand why Jean-François Régis became Saint Régis. There is a “Robin Hood” or rebellious side to his political engagement with the underprivileged. The saint is original and his spirituality probably never set him aside from his fellows. We thus discover a man of the people stopping at nothing. Always ready to help others. With a probably uncommon physical courage, a palpable kindness throughout its history, this Saint Régis quickly attracts the sympathy of the visitor. 

The Diorama an unexpected nugget

The second room presents the Diorama and has been completely restored. This is an original creation by Georges Serraz (1883-1964). This name does not speak to you and yet you have surely already come across some of his works. 

The sketches are all very lively, the art belongs to another time and we linger with tenderness on the details of clothing or furniture. The representation of landscapes occupies a large part of the paintings. Thus we discover a rich and active rural life. There is even an element of humor in the behavior of the characters: onlookers balance themselves on the frame of the church to listen to the sermon. The diorama reads a bit like a comic book.

An unknown artist, a work in view of all

Georges Serraz studied at theSchool of Fine Arts of Besançon, after having been a painter he became a sculptor. A sculptor of religious art and war memorial since his demobilization from the Great War.

He has workshops at DijonAnd then Paris where he designs monumental statues. For example he is the author of the Virgin of Mas Rillier in the town of Miribel, statue of Christ the King of Houches, baptistry de Grancey-le-Chateau or the monument to the memory of the guerrillas of the Forest of Châtillon. After the colonial exhibition of 1931 (for which he made a series of paintings retracing the history of evangelization in Madagascar), here he is in Lalouvesc to revive the apostolic itinerary of Saint Jean-François Régis through 19 sketches . 

Yesterday and today

Finally, the last room recounts the 400 years of pilgrimage to Lalouvesc and the attachment of Louvetous and pilgrims to the two Saints of Lalouvesc: Saint Jean-François Régis and Sainte-Thérèse Couderc, showcases allow you to discover his life and his body rests in the Basilica.

A large relief map of the sector allows you to read the route taken by St Régis, old objects (chunks, souvenirs, etc.) are on display.