Abbey of St Pons

Abbey of St Pons also known as the Abbaye Saint-Pons de Nice is one of the oldest monasteries in the French Riviera, along with the Lérins Abbey. It is located in the municipality of Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes.

Although originally much older, the church was rebuilt in 1724 in Baroque style. The church was classified as a historical monument of national importance in 1913, and the façades and roofs of the abbey and cloister were classified as being of regional importance in 1949.

According to the Passion of Saint Pons, a manuscript dating from the 9th century or 10th century, Pontius was the son of a Roman senator. When he was very young, he and his family were persuaded by Pope Pontian (230-235) to convert to Christianity. Upon the death of his father, Pontius became a senator and gave all his possessions to Pope Fabian (236-250) to be distributed among the poor. He used his position in society to convert Emperor Philip the Arab (244-249) and his son.

The reigns of Valerian (253-260) and Gallienus (253-268) saw Christians subject to persecution and Pontius left Italy to settle in Cimiez. However, Claudius, the governor of Gaul, implemented the imperial policy of persecuting Christians and Pontius was arrested. Refusing to sacrifice to the pagan gods, he was subject to execution. After several attempts at execution including being thrown to two bears in the amphitheatre and being burnt at the stake were ineffective, he was finally beheaded on a rock overlooking the banks of the Paillon and his body pushed off a cliff. His martyrdom is traditionally placed in 257 or 258AD.

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