Tours Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France, and dedicated to Saint Gatianus. It is the seat of the Archbishops of Tours, the metropolitan cathedral of the Tours ecclesiastical province. It was built between 1170 and 1547. At the time construction began, the church was located at the south end of the bridge over the river Loire, on the road from Paris to the south-west of France. It has been a classified monument historique since 1862. Since 1905 it has been owned by the French State, with the Catholic Church having the exclusive rights of use.
Tours Cathedral
The cathedral in 1625
The cathedral in the 18th century (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours)
Portals of the west front
Gatianus in the third century AD was the founding bishop of the see of Tours. He was one of the "seven apostles of Gaul" commissioned by Pope Fabian to evangelize in the region.
St. Gatianus depicted in a stained-glass window, Église Notre-Dame (La Celle-Guenand)