Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy" in English language version.
The wars of religion were fierce in this part of the Massif Central of southern France. The Calvinists attacked and burned the church and the abbey. Then, in 1789, the French Revolution, heralding the Enlightenment, suppressed all the religious orders, including the canons, and turned the church of St. Foy into a "Temple of Reason." The villagers outwitted the pillagers, however, by taking the relics and treasures and hiding them in their homes and in the chestnut trees in the forests....on a visit in 1833, Prosper Mirimee, the great French writer who was also inspector-general for historical remains in France, was horrified to see the decrepit condition of St. Foy, which he considered one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in France. Finding the abbey beyond repair, he set about supervising the restoration of the church.
