Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-des-Roses replaces an old church of the 12th century dedicated to Saint Médard, whose bell tower was demolished in 1893 for old age. In his place, a municipal belfry was erected, while the church, condemned, was finally razed in 1910 despite protests, including those of the writer Maurice Barrès. The furniture, including a 15th century statue and the bell, was dispersed or destroyed during its brutal decommissioning.

The chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Roses, built on a plot offered by the rosiérist Pierre Cochet, preceded the present church. It was built between 1964 and 1966 under the impetus of Father Jean Fabing, integrating a conference centre with an amphitheater. Its architecture, signed by Antoine Korady, combines Christian symbols (barque de Pierre, fish) and innovative structure: concrete walls, wood-slate roof, and vaults in hyperbolic parables evoking rose petals.

The artistic elements mark the building: stained glass by Jacques Loire, sculptures by Louis Leygue and Maurice Calka, and a wrought iron cock, designed by Korady and directed by Maurice Levasseur father and son. The fish-shaped plan and the arrow representing the stem of an inverted rose underline the symbolic dimension of the place, mixing modernity and spirituality.

The site, originally religious, also had multipurpose spaces in the 1960s, reflecting an adaptation to the community needs of the time. The inauguration in 1966 marked the culmination of a project combining architectural innovation and spiritual heritage, in a context of post-demolition reconstruction.

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