Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Trinitarian Order, founded in 1198 by Saint John of Matha and Saint Felix of Valois, settled in Arles from 1199 to establish a congregation dedicated to the redemption of slaves captured by the barbarians. The primitive convent, built between the Old-Bourg (current Rocket) and the Mejan, was officially recognized in 1203. It included a church, a cloister and a cemetery, but its estate was reduced over the centuries, notably in 1253 by the redevelopment of the ramparts and in 1573 by the construction of the Holy Spirit Hotel-God (now the Van Gogh Space).

In 1630, the original convent was razed to give way to a new monacal ensemble, named "of the Trinity and Saint-Roch". These buildings, used until the French Revolution, were sold as national goods, leaving only the chapel and fragments of the cloister embedded in nearby buildings. The chapel, marked by a five-paned apse decorated with the coat of arms of the Perrin family and a nave once illuminated with eight windows (including four walls), was redesigned in 1884 by architect Auguste Veran, who gave it a contemporary facade.

The interior of the building, decorated in the early seventeenth century, reflected a late Renaissance style, inspired by the reigns of Henry III and Henry IV. The chapel, classified as a historic monument in 1958, today bears witness to Arles' religious and architectural history, while recalling the Trinitarian humanitarian mission. Its original portal, framed by canned Corinthian columns decorated with vine leaves, illustrates the care taken to build it.

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