Foundation of the Brotherhood 1591 (≈ 1591)
Created by twelve pious Marseillais.
1597
Construction of the chapel
Construction of the chapel 1597 (≈ 1597)
Built for the Bourras Brotherhood.
1764
Extension of missions
Extension of missions 1764 (≈ 1764)
Burial of dead forces.
1793
Become a revolutionary court
Become a revolutionary court 1793 (≈ 1793)
Seized and reassigned during the Revolution.
1816
Repurchase by the Bourras
Repurchase by the Bourras 1816 (≈ 1816)
Restoration and return to worship.
1892
Fusion of the brotherhoods
Fusion of the brotherhoods 1892 (≈ 1892)
Birth of Black Penitents.
1931
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 1931 (≈ 1931)
Official State protection.
1960
Death of the last prior
Death of the last prior 1960 (≈ 1960)
End of the active brotherhood.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Antoine Mascaron - Founder of the Brotherhood
Expelled after Casaulx's murder.
L. Preyre - Vice-President during the war
Liaison with the imprisoned resistance.
L. Fontanier - Last Prior of the Chapel
Watchman until 1960.
Origin and history
The chapel of the Black Penitents, also called the Chapel of the Good Jesus, was built in 1597 in the 2nd arrondissement of Marseilles. It originally belonged to the brotherhood of the Holy Name of Jesus, founded in 1591 by twelve pious Marseillais, including Antoine Mascaron. This fraternity, nicknamed "the Bourras" because of their clothing in brine, has the task of accompanying the condemned to death, assisting them in their execution and burying them. The admission criteria are strict: members must be good men, at least 18 years of age, and not engage in jobs deemed immoral unless they show a firm will to correct themselves. From 1764, the penitents extended their action to bury the dead convicts in the hospital of the arsenal of galleys.
During the French Revolution, the chapel was seized, decommissioned and transformed into a warehouse for objects from other churches. In 1793 it even became a revolutionary court before being auctioned in 1802. Falling in ruins, it was bought in 1816 by the Bourras, who restored it and restored its religious vocation. In 1892, the brotherhood of the Black Penitents merged with that of the Bourras, adopting their costume and settling permanently in this chapel, which then took its present name.
In the 20th century, the chapel played a discreet but active role in the Resistance during the Second World War, under the impulse of its vice-rector L. Preyre. The latter organizes visits to prison to communicate with the arrested resistors and establishes, after the Liberation, a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde. The last prior, L. Fontanier, watches over the premises until his death in 1960, preserving the collections of the chapel by entrusting them to the Museum of Old Marseilles and the Musée du Terroir Marseillais. After the end of the fraternity, the chapel experienced a troubled period: used as a dormitory for North African workers in 1968, it was finally bought in 1973 by the Old Marseille Committee, then restored by an association that restored it to the traditional Catholic cult.
