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Origin and history

The Convent of the Dominicans of Lille, also known as the Saint-Thomas-d-Aquin convent, is a contemporary religious building located at 7 Avenue Salomon in the Saint-Maurice Pellevoisin district. First monument labeled "Twentieth Century Heritage" in 1999, it has been listed as a historical monument since May 7, 2002. Designed by architects Pierre Pinsard, Neil Hutchison and Hugo Vollmar, it combines brick, concrete and glass, creating remarkable light games in his church. The ensemble, built between 1955 and 1964, reflects architectural simplicity in harmony with the Dominican spirit.

The Dominicans' presence in Lille dates back to 1224, with a convent originally located outside the ramparts, near the Saint-Pierre gate. Destroyed several times by wars, it was rebuilt in 1580 in the city, before being abandoned during the French Revolution. The Order was restored in France in 1843 by Father Lacordaire, and the Dominicans returned to Lille in 1869, settling rue Gambetta until their expulsion in 1905. After a passage on Rue Brûle-Maison in 1927, the decision to build a new convent was taken in 1952 under the impulse of prior Michel Bous.

The current convent is organized around a cloister opened on a two-hectare garden, inherited from an old bourgeois property. It consists of four main buildings: the church, the dining hall, the housing building and the hotel. The church, the spiritual heart of the convent, is marked by a double curved concrete veil and the stained glass windows of Gérard Lardeur, evoking the "Eternal Logos" of the Gospel according to Saint John. It hosts three daily celebrations (laudes, Mass, Vespers) and concerts of sacred music.

The refectory, conceived as a symbolic extension of the church, resumes its architecture with a high elevation and zenithal windows. A concrete chair emphasizes the importance of reading during meals, strengthening the link between prayer and community life. The apartment building, in parallelepipedic form, houses forty cells of brothers on three floors, as well as an atrium, a common room and a library on the ground floor.

The hotel, in the shape of L, hosts conference rooms and rooms for visitors, while the former novitiate, now transformed into a home for lay students ("The clearing"), retains an independent cloistered structure. The buildings are connected by glass galleries, creating perpendicular axes that define six patios. The garden, prior to the convent, offers a haven of peace with centuries-old trees and hosts cultural events.

Since 2003, the convent has been offering "La Retraite dans la ville", a series of 40 daily meditations sent by email, attracting more than 65,000 participants in 2012. Guided tours are organised during European Heritage Days, and concerts are regularly scheduled, such as the performance of Vivaldi's "Gloria" by Ensemble Janequin in Lille.

Future

Guided tours are organised each year by the convent brothers as part of the European Heritage Days.

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