ST. ORENS CHURCH

This church bears the name, rare outside the region, of a former bishop of Auch, of Spanish origin, sanctified for his struggle, in the^5th century, against the pagan customs in his city and for his efforts to establish peace between the Romans and the Visigoth king of Toulouse. When the Visigoths invaded, he was arrested, taken in chains to Toulouse, locked up in a dungeon for several months before being beheaded. In Auch, this martyr is celebrated on May 11, but his actual feast day is May¹. The church of Cadeillan is not dedicated to him. It is placed under the blessing of the apostles Peter and Paul. Rebuilt in the 19th century, it has a bell tower-wall with three bells and a chevet strangely embedded in a building that was once the presbytery. Today it is a dwelling house that adjoins the church. On the wooden ceiling, above the choir of the church, are painted two crosses of the Order of the Knights of St. John and the Order of Malta which testify to a part of the history of the building and the parish. The church of Saint-Orens de Cadeillan houses the tomb of Pierre-de-Carsalade-du-Pont, lord of Cadeillan, knight of the Order of Saint Louis, who owned a fortified house at the place called "Au Pont". In the church, you can admire a tabernacle dating from the 18th century. Finally, in the small adjoining cemetery, you can visit the grave of the jazz trumpeter Bill Coleman and his wife Lilly who also left their mark on the village.