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Origin and history

The Saint Joseph Chapel in Bordeaux is an Orthodox church built in the 17th century, classified as a historical monument in 1978 with its stone altarpiece. It was founded in 1616 by Marie Delpech of the Estang, a Bordeaux aristocrat. This institution, approved by Archbishop Henri de Sourdis in 1638, then by Kings Louis XIII (1639) and Louis XIV (1673), had as its mission the education and maintenance of abandoned girls. The congregation, called the Society of the Sisters of St Joseph, extended to Paris through the protection of Anne of Austria, before being integrated in 1965 into the missions of the nuns of Providence of Lisieux.

In 1663, faced with the influx of orphans, the superior Jeanne Durfort acquired land to erect a more spacious chapel. The project, validated by Archbishop Henri de Bethune (whose arms adorn the vault), is entrusted to the architect Julien Foucré, known for his baroque work in Bordeaux. The work, interrupted in 1666 for lack of prior authorization, ended in 1671. Pope Clement X then granted indulgences to visitors. Disused during the Revolution, the chapel was restored in 1862 by the Bordeaux Charitable Office and then closed in 1978 to avoid its destruction.

The building, baroque style, features a limestone facade decorated with ionic pilasters, a curved pediment and a niche (now empty) once home to a statue of St Joseph and the Child Jesus. Inside, the nave, flanked by lateral chapels, leads to a pentagonal apse choir. The stone altarpiece (classified in 1978), executed between 1666 and 1674, is distinguished by its bas-reliefs illustrating rare scenes of Saint Joseph's life, such as the Leak in Egypt. The weapons of the donors, including the Bishop of Bethune and the Lecomte de la Tresne family, are carved.

The chapel, owned by the city of Bordeaux since 1990, benefited from major restorations in the 1990s (roof, vaults) at a cost of 1.8 million francs, financed by the State, the department of Gironde and the municipality. After decades of degradation (including the decapitation of the statue in 1984), it reopened to worship in 1999, entrusted to a Romanian Orthodox parish. Its architecture, combining Roman and Baroque influences, and its history of charity make it an emblematic heritage of Bordeaux.

Later added stained glass windows and carpentry elements (chairs, altars) reflect the evolution of its use, while the retable, an anonymous work, bears witness to the rise of the cult of Saint Joseph in the seventeenth century. The chapel, now open to the visit, embodies both a religious, architectural and social heritage, marked by the commitment of Saint Joseph's sisters and Bordeaux patrons.

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