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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame des Cordeliers de Laval found its origins at the end of the 14th century, when Guy XII of Laval and his wife Jeanne de Laval, widow of Bertrand Du Guesclin, founded a convent for the minor convent brothers. Between 1397 and 1407, the claustral buildings, a temporary chapel dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, and then the church itself were erected. The building, consecrated in 1407 under the name of Notre-Dame, was initially equipped with a single nave flanked by a northern collateral, where seven side chapels were opened. The latter, decorated in the seventeenth century with marble altarpieces, form one of the largest Baroque ensembles in the West.

In the 17th century, the church was embellished by painted panels depicting scenes of the life of Franciscan saints, as well as by columns of red marble of Saint Berthevin in the now extinct cloister. The stained glass windows, including those of the refectory, created in 1539 by Simon de Heemsce and destroyed in 1670, showed the artistic richness of the place. The convent, prosperous until the Revolution, housed up to 60 religious and served as a place of teaching and preaching. The general chapters of the Order of Cordeliers remained there on several occasions, notably in 1505 and 1619.

The French Revolution marked a turning point: the convent was transformed into barracks and then into a prison for refractory priests in 1792. The buildings, partially destroyed or reassigned, were restored to worship in 1800. In the 19th century, the architect Pierre-Aimé Renous added a second side to the nave. Ranked a historic monument in 1926 and in total in 2023, the church preserves its 19th century organ and today hosts celebrations in the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Roman rite.

The founders, Guy XII and Jeanne de Laval, although traditionally associated with the church, were not buried there. Their patronage, however, marked Laval for a long time, where the convent became a major spiritual and intellectual centre. The retables, panelling and vestiges of the cloister still remind the historical importance of this place, linked to both the Franciscan order, the local aristocracy and revolutionary upheavals.

In the 21st century, the church of Notre-Dame des Cordeliers remains an active place of worship, served by the Fraternity of Saint Peter for the Tridentine form and by the diocese for the ordinary form. Its organ, restored several times, and its modern stained glass windows, including those offered in 1945 by Canon Chantepie, perpetuate a six-century artistic and liturgical tradition.

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