On one of the south-side pilasters, a bas-relief of stone from the XVIth century, unfortunately very mangled, depicts the Immaculate Conception, three centuries before the proclamation of the dogma. The Eternal Father, coifed with a tiara, is extending his right hand and blessing the Holy Virgin, whose finely sculpted attributes, popularized by the litanies, can be admired: Tower of David, Flourished Garden, Mystic Rose, Ivory Tower, Mirror of Justice etc. .
Very close to it, near the Chapelle Vieille, in the first transept, a reliquary made in the purest flamboyant gothic style, remains as a one of a kind historical sculpture. The reliquary furniture, a five meters tall reliquary, made of finely sculpted stone, dates from the Dom Chollets' transformations, in about 1440. It is the treasure of Souvigny. Before its construction, two mausoleums, disposed before the entrance of the choir reserved for the monks, conserved the relics of Saint Mayeul and Saint Odilo. The recent excavations proceeded for the 2002 exhibition in the Souvigny Museum unearthed this first forgotten tomb.
From the XVth century to 1793, the reliquary furniture presented the relics of the holy abbots to the veneration of the plentiful faithful. During the French Revolution, the reliquaries depicted on the doors of the furniture were desecrated and burned. During the XIXth century, some authentified relics of Saint Mayeul and Saint Odilo stemed from other monasteries were collected and still rest in this furniture.
Traduction : Louis Fongarnand
