 For example, when Henri IV abjured the Protestant religion, putting an end to religious wars, it was in St Peter's Church that the "Te Deum" was sung in the presence of the civil and religious representatives of the whole city.The spire of the church was destroyed on 9 July 1944 by a British Royal Navy shell fired at German forces from HMS "Rodney", and has since been rebuilt.The eastern apse of the church was built by Hector Sohier between 1518 and 1545.