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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The chapel of the Minimes of Pont-Saint-Esprit originated in the foundation of a convent in the early seventeenth century. In 1602, the inhabitants of the city requested the establishment of a community of Minimes, which was established thanks to a gift from Gilles Magnis and his wife. The religious then acquire adjacent houses to enlarge the convent. The church, built in 1608, houses the burials of local noble families, including the princes of Lorraine d'Harcourt and the Porcellets.

The building, of sober style, consists of a nave flanked by side chapels and a polygonal apse vaulted on dogive crosses. Four of the chapels reproduce this type of vault, while the first left chapel has a dome on pendants. Part of the vaults of the nave have disappeared, but the third span retains a ridge vault. Outside, four low arches, remains of the old cloister, remain in an attenuating courtyard.

Returned to worship in 1826 after the Revolution, the chapel became a secondary place of prayer, known as "relief". Its portal, including its vantals, is classified as Historic Monument by decree of 20 June 1950. The building thus illustrates the religious and architectural heritage of Pont-Saint-Esprit, marked by the influence of beggars and local aristocratic families.

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