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Origin and history

The convent of the Cordeliers of Châlons-en-Champagne was founded in 1222 on the initiative of Bishop Guillaume du Perche, on the site of the former Place des Filles-Dieu and the chapel of Sainte-Barbe. The nuns were relocated to the Holy Spirit Hospital, while the convent also included a chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and a cloister. This site, originally located outside the walls of the city under the name of the Old Cordelles, was transferred between 1245 and 1258 to its final location, thanks in particular to the donations of a rich bourgeois, Michel le Papelard, who financed the construction of the chapel, dormitories, lock-ups and kitchen.

In the 16th century, the convent experienced a period of unrest: in 1518, the insubordination of religious became so serious that the local authorities, supported by the pope, had to intervene by force to restore order. An act of 1612 confirmed that the buildings belonged to the city. During the French Revolution, the convent was seized as national property and sold. From 1789, some of the premises served as barracks, and from 1825 to 1827, the site temporarily housed the major seminary. Due to their old age, the buildings were gradually destroyed after 1829.

Today, only the monumental portal, built in 1674 in stone of Savonnières, which marked the entrance to the church remains. It was built of chalk and stone, with a wooden ceiling and a bell tower covered with lead and slate. The cloister, covered and equipped with a central garden, connected the church to the convent buildings. The door, classified as a Historical Monument by order of 12 April 1934, remains the last testimony of this Champagne religious heritage.

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