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Origin and history

The church of the Capuchins of Mayenne was founded in the early seventeenth century, in 1606, when the city asked the order of the Capuchins to establish a convent. The land, named Champ-du-Mariage, was offered by the inhabitants and local authorities, and the first stone was symbolically laid on 17 April 1606. The chapel and sacristy, consecrated in 1607 by the bishop of Avranches, received the financial support of King Henry IV and Duke Charles of Lorraine. Work continued until 1609, when the chapel was solemnly blessed.

During the 17th century, the Capuchins developed the site by adding infrastructure such as an aqueduct (circa 1625) and an infirmary (1641). Their library, rich in 2,558 volumes in 1790, was renowned for its books of theology, history and literature. However, the storm of 1705 partially damaged the convent, notably by breaking the clock bell. The Capuchins also celebrated canonizations, such as that of Felix de Cantalice in 1712, marking their spiritual anchoring in the region.

The French Revolution marked a dramatic turning point for the convent. In 1791 only seven religious resided there, and only one adherent to the Civil Constitution of the clergy. The site was confiscated, sold as a national property in 1792, and the chapel served briefly as a meeting place for the Society of Friends of the Constitution. The library was largely dispersed or looted, especially during the Galerne tour by the Catholic and Royal Army of Vendée. The ruins were finally given in 1818 to the Visitandines d'Alençon, who established their own convent there.

The order of the Capuchins, a Franciscan reform that appeared in 1525 and was formalized in 1535, implanted in France under Charles IX. In Mayenne, their presence reflected their growing influence in the West, with close foundations such as those of Le Mans (1602) or Laval (1614). Their establishment in Mayenne was made possible by local donations and the support of political figures, illustrating the role of begging orders in the provincial cities of the Ancien Régime.

Architecturally, the convent combined Franciscan simplicity and local adaptations, as the aqueduct built to irrigate the gardens. The damage suffered in 1705 and the revolutionary spoliations erased much of his material heritage. Today, only indirect traces remain, integrated in the history of the convent of the Visitation which succeeds him.

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