Céret church is located in the centre of “la cellere”, the sacred ground thirty steps wide that surround the church in which all violence is prohibited ensuring protection against feudal abuses. The first mention of the church in Céret dates back to 814, in a precept by Louis the Pious. Nothing remains of this first building which was replaced by a Romanesque church. Only the lower part of the bell tower dating from the 11th and 12th centuries remains of this medieval structure. The blind arches, twin bays and squared rubble stone fittings bear witness to this period. The building, which was expanded in the 14th century, is fitted with a white marble portal from Mas Carol, which bears the inscription “In the year of our Lord 1398 this door was made”. The marble funeral plaques inscribed on the facade evoke the memory of the lords of Céret and are the last remaining traces of this medieval period.
In the 18th century, major works were undertaken on the church which are clearly visible on the medieval structure: the chevet was rebuilt, the immense dome was installed at the crossing of the transept and the facade was majestically repaired with the addition of a cornice and niche in which sits a wooden sculpture of Saint Peter above the marble portal. Inside, most of the polychrome wooden altarpieces sit within the side chapels while an organ from the 18th century of nearly 3,000 pipes solemnly dominates the nave to the west. The neoclassical high altar dates from the beginning of the 19th century.
