Cathédrale Saint-Paul

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About Cathédrale Saint-Paul

The Cathédrale Saint-Paul began as a collegiate church, founded by Bishop Éracle in the year 967. The present building was erected between the 13th and 15th centuries, in a Gothic style that ranges from the more sober forms of the nave to the five-sided apse, which is more ornate. In the 19th century the architect Jean-Charles Delsaux added the neo-Gothic decoration seen today.

It only became a cathedral in 1802. the former seat of the bishopric, the cathedral of Saint-Lambert, had been destroyed after the Revolution, and the relics and the cult of the patron saint were transferred to Saint-Paul. Inside, it is worth looking at the 16th-century stained glass, the carved pulpit and the choir statues.

Next to the church is the cloister, with galleries from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In one of its wings is the Trésor de Liège, a museum of sacred art that preserves much of what was saved from the old cathedral. The best-known pieces are the bust-reliquary of São Lamberto, a goldsmith's work from the early 16th century, and the reliquary that Charles the Bold offered to the city in the 15th century, as well as carved ivories from the 11th century.

The cathedral is an active church with regular masses. The Trésor has its own entrance on rue Bonne Fortune and opening hours different from those of the nave.