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Origin and history

The Church of St. Cecile, also known as the Church of Sabatier, is a wooden building erected in 1924 by Polish miners in the city of Pinson in Raismes. This neighborhood, conceived as a garden city between 1911 and 1926, housed the workers of the Sabatier pit, opened in 1907 by the Compagnie des Mines. The building reflects the Polish architectural heritage, especially with its adjacent roof ordeal. The church, originally intended for the Polish community, was destroyed by a fire in 1975, leaving intact only the sacristy, whose original wood trimming still remains today.

The same reconstruction of the church was completed in 1978, and it was restored to worship on February 12 of the same year, at a Mass celebrated by Henri-Martin Felix Jenny, then Archbishop of Cambrai. The building, inscribed in the historical monuments on December 1, 2009 for its facades and roof, is now dependent on the Archdiocese of Cambrai and the parish of Saint-Jacques-du-Val-d'Escaut. The presbytery, built at the same time as the church in 1924, is also protected by this inscription. After belonging to the Houillères, the church is now owned by the diocesan association.

The city of Pinson, where the church stands, illustrates the industrial history of northern France, marked by Polish immigration in the inter-war period. These workers, recruited to exploit coal mines, have left a lasting cultural footprint, as this church shows. Today, the place remains active for worship, with early Sunday Masses every other Saturday and weekday services on Thursday morning. Its official address, 24bis rue Thiers à Raismes, makes it a point of heritage and religious interest in the Hauts-de-France.

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