The church was built by bishop Gerard de Cardaillac in the 11th century, over a church erected in the 7th century by St. Didier of Cahors and completed around 1135. The altar was consecrated by Pope Calixtus II on September 10, 1119. The altar stood within a giant hemicycle with three radiating chapels, to which was added a nave composed of two domed bays, each 20 x 20 m, the largest in France. The church, located in the city's centre, has the sturdy appearance of a fortified edifice: at the time, the local bishops were in fact also powerful feudal lords in their role as counts and barons of Cahors. The façade was renovated in 1316-1324 by Guillaume de Labroue, cousin of Pope John XXII.