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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Repos, located in Montfavet in the commune of Avignon (Vaucluse), was founded in the 14th century by Cardinal Bertrand de Montfavès. In 1341 he acquired a property which he renamed "Our Lady of Bon Rest" and established there a monastery for 24 Augustine canons. The site, which began in 1343 after his death, was led by the builders Bertrand and Pierre Folcoaud and completed in 1347. The cardinal was buried in front of the altar, although his grave had now disappeared.

The monastery, originally conceived as a closed quadrilateral with housing bodies and square wings, was fortified at the end of the 14th century in front of the threats of the "big companies" and the Great Schism. Flanched with towers and girded with ditches, it depends successively on the abbey of Saint-Ruf (1498), the monastery of Aygueboune (1452), then welcomes recollets (1613) and capuchins (1759). Closed in 1794 during the Revolution, it became well national, and the church was classified as Historic Monument in 1908.

The church architecture, marked by open buttresses and a pentagonal bedside, reflects its defensive use. The south gate, decorated with columns and a tympanum depicting the Virgin, leads to a nave of 37 meters lined with twelve chapels. Inside, the ogival vaults fall on carved caps (allegories of vices, monks...), while murals and a altarpiece testify to his religious past. The bell tower, whose arrow was rebuilt under the Second Empire, dominates the whole.

The site preserves remains of its monastic life: capitular room, refectory, and wall inscriptions tracing its history. Among the remarkable elements are the tomb of Peter of Cohorn (1486), a Swedish noble exile, and three paintings, including Bertrand de Montfavet presenting the church to the Virgin. Ranked with its towers in 1908, the old delivery (central body and fence walls) has been registered since 2017.

Representing the Avignonnais cardinal orders of the 14th century, Montfavet's livery combines monumentality and architectural sobriety. Its 48-metre façade, flanked by two towers, illustrates a program both residential and symbolic. Despite subsequent transformations, the building preserved its original exterior appearance, offering a rare example of this medieval heritage in Provence.

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