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Origin and history

Sainte-Claire Abbey, also known as the Clarisses convent, is a religious building located at 1 rue Sainte-Claire in Arras. Founded in 1457 by Philip de Saveuse and his wife Marie de Lully, this abbey was approved by Pope Calixte III. Catherine de Callone became her first abbess. The site, occupied since the 15th century, still houses a community of Claresse sisters, and its chapel, accessible to the public during the services, preserves the tombs of the founders and the family of Gomiécourt.

The 18th-century gate, said to the "eye of God", was the entrance to the old chapel. It has been a historic monument since 1946 and bears witness to the religious architecture of the time. The abbey garden also houses a small chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame-des-Anges, erected in 1735. Although privately owned, the abbey remains a place of worship and historical memory for the city of Arras.

The Clares, a women's religious order derived from the rule of Saint Claire of Assisi, marked local history by their uninterrupted presence since the foundation. Their convent, typical of the late Middle Ages urban monastic settlements, illustrates both the piety of the Arrange elites and the importance of begging orders in the cities of northern France. The maintenance of monastic life on this site makes it a rare testimony of spiritual and architectural continuity.

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