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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Île de France
  4. Val-d'oise
  5. 95300 Pontoise

  6. Carmelite or Carmelite Convent

 Carmelite or Carmelite Convent à Pontoise dans le Val-d'oise

Patrimoine classé
Couvent
Carmel
Val-doise

Carmelite or Carmelite Convent

    55 Rue Pierre-Butin
    95300 Pontoise
Carmel de Pontoise
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Couvent des Carmélites ou du Carmel
Crédit photo : P.poschadel - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1605
Carmel Foundation
1610
Final installation
1618
Death of Madame Acarie
1792
Expulsion of nuns
1821
Restoration of the convent
1986 et 2002
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The facades and roofs, the floor of the garden, the fence walls, the old rampart, the cells of Madame Acarie and Mother Mary of the Blessed Sacrament, the stairs (see AK 526, 554): inscription by decree of 12 June 1986 - Hermitage Saint-Joseph (cad. AK 855): registration by decree of 30 September 2002

Key figures

Anne de Saint-Barthélemy - Spanish religious Companion of Saint Teresa, first prioress.
Madame Acarie (Marie de l'Incarnation) - Founder of Carmels in France Died at the convent in 1618, mausoleum on site.
Michel de Marillac - Seal keeper Facilitated installation in 1610.
Jeanne de Jésus - Influential Prioress Sister of Chancellor Séguier, an actress of the reform.
Marie de Médicis - Queen of France Protector of the convent with Anne of Austria.
Francesco Bordoni - Italian sculptor Author of the mausoleum of Madame Acarie (1626).

Origin and history

The Carmel of Pontoise, under the name of Saint Joseph, was founded in 1605 by Spanish nuns, including Anne de Saint-Barthélemy, a companion of Saint Thérèse d'Avila. It is the second Theresian Carmel established in France, after that of Paris, and the oldest still in operation today. The first sisters temporarily settled in houses on the rue du Soleil (present-day rue Marcel-Rousier), before settling definitively in 1610 in the current buildings of rue Pierre-Butin, thanks to the support of Michel de Marillac and Madame Acarie, founder of the order in France.

The convent became a place of major spiritual influence, welcoming figures such as Mary of the Incarnation (Madame Acarie), who died there in 1618. His mausoleum, commissioned in 1626 by Francesco Bordoni, is still visible in the church of Carmel. The monastery benefited from the protection of queens such as Marie de Medici and Anne of Austria, who made several visits with young Louis XIV. Prioresses, including Jeanne de Jesus (sister of Chancellor Séguier), played a key role in Catholic reform in France.

During the Revolution, the convent was secularized: its property was sold in 1791-1792, and the nuns expelled in 1792. The buildings, transformed into prison, wheat attic or factory, were bought by the city in 1818 and returned to the Carmelites in 1820. Conventual life was restored in 1821, and Madame Acarie's relics returned in 1822. Despite threats of expulsion in 1901 and 1936, Carmel remains active today, with a community of about a dozen nuns in 2010.

The site, which was listed as historical monuments in 1986 and 2002, retains remarkable elements: facades, roofs, gardens, fence walls, historical cells (like that of Madame Acarie), and a Saint Joseph hermitage decorated in the 1930s. The church, open to the public, houses seven classified objects, including 17th century embroidery attributed to Madame Acarie and 17th and 18th century religious paintings. The outdoor courtyard, accessible during the day, offers a shop of handicrafts made by the sisters.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum