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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The monastery of the Visitandines of Caen found its origins in the early 19th century, when the order of the Visitation, restored in France by Napoleon I in 1805 at the request of his mother Laetitia Bonaparte, settled again in the city. The nuns acquired the abbey abbey abbey abbey abbey abbey, built between 1755 and 1759, and obtained a final royal authorization in 1826. This monastery replaces the former convent of the Visitation, dispersed during the Revolution and transformed into barracks (the current Quartier Lorge).

The sisters gradually expanded their property by purchasing adjacent plots, including Mariette's and the grounds of the Cour des Granges. Several buildings were added, and three chapels followed each other: the first, built in 1812, was followed by a second, blessed in 1838. The third, funded by the bequest of Louise de Vendes, was erected between 1890 and 1893 under the direction of architect Edmond Hébert, with the possible collaboration of Rapine, architect of the Historical Monuments. This chapel, inspired by the old chapel of Quartier Lorge, is now listed as historical monuments.

The monastery was marked by notable religious figures, such as Léonie Martin, sister of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, who entered three times between 1887 and 1899 under the names of Sister Thérèse-Dosithée and then Sister Françoise-Thérèse. She died there in 1941 and was buried in the crypt. Between 1909 and 1920, the community was exiled to Saint-Leonard-on-Sea (England) before returning to Caen. Since 1967, an adjacent home has housed students, run by a nun but separate from the monastery.

The chapel houses remarkable artistic elements, such as stained glass windows from the Lorin workshops (1900-1924), a cross path from the Jacquier workshop, and two classified paintings: La Fontaine de vie (17th century, Flemish artist) and La Visitation de Pierre Mignard (1660). These works reflect the cultural and spiritual heritage of the place.

The monastery remains a place of active religious life, while testifying to the turbulent history of the Order of Visitation in Normandy, between revolutionary dispersions, reconstructions and adaptations to modern times.

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