CHURCH OF GABRIAS

The Church of the Holy Innocents was dedicated to Our Lady in the Middle Ages. At that time, Gabrias was just a farmhouse. In 1420, it was called the farmhouse of Gabrias. Our Lady of Gabrias was a priory founded in the 12th century. The presence of a tomb recess in the Chapel of the Virgin Mary testifies to the presence of coffins. Indeed, in the Middle Ages, it was common for a prior, a monk, or the parish priest to be buried beneath a chapel. This Romanesque church would become considerably important in the parish from 1412 onwards. In that year, Prior Jean Novelli drew up his will. His last wishes stipulated that the Church of Gabrias should be the central place of the parish. Following the destruction of the Church of Saint Petronilla, Our Lady of Gabrias became the parish church. 1424 marks the erection of the collegiate church of Notre Dame de la Carce in Marvejols; Gabrias is now part of it. (excerpt from "Gabrias, history of a village in Lozère" by Fabrice Gral, 2012)