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Key figures

Origin and history

The convent of the Holy Spirit of Amiens is a monastery of Carmelite nuns founded on 14 May 1606 by Isabelle des Anges, one of the six Spanish Carmelites sent to France to implant the order of Carmel reformed by Thérèse d'Avila. It was the fourth Carmel founded in France. Between 1614 and 1616 Barbe Acarie (Mary of the Incarnation), a major figure in Carmelite spirituality, stayed there. The convent played a key role in founding other Carmelites in France, such as those of Saint-Denis (1625), Abbeville (1636), and Compiègne (1641).

During the French Revolution, the convent was closed and its property declared national property, in accordance with anti-clerical laws. Despite this, a clandestine community managed to survive until its reopening in 1799. At the beginning of the 20th century, after the adoption of the Associations Act of 1901, the nuns went into exile in Belgium, returning only after the First World War. This convent remains the oldest monastery still active in Amiens.

The current buildings, built in 1965 by architect Pierre Pinsard, replace the original structures. The chapel was completed in 1994 by François-Xavier Legenne. These modern reconstructions contrast with the old history of the place, while perpetuating its spiritual and community vocation.

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