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Origin and history

The church of St. Chrysole de Comines, rebuilt after the First World War, replaces a building destroyed by the bombings. The project, entrusted in 1922 to Maurice Storez and Dom Paul Bellot (association L The transepts, originally planned, were never built for lack of funding. The structure, combining concrete, brick and coloured parpaing, creates a rosé geometric decor, while the borrowings from Arabo-Andalous architecture (nervures, arches) soften the structural rigor.

The first stone was laid in 1922, but the church was completed only in 1929, after seven years of construction. Inaugurated on July 7, 1928, it included furniture designed by Dom Bellot, marking his first French work before the convent of Wisques. Ranked a historic monument in 2002, it underwent a major restoration between 2011 and 2017, revealing its Byzantine mosaics and technical daring, such as thin concrete sails. Its bell tower, a hors-oeuvre, occupies the place of the former communal belfry, while a gallery connects it to the narthex.

The origins of the church date back, according to unverified local traditions, to the third century (transformation of a pagan temple by Chrysole) or to the eleventh century (collegiate of canonians). The first attested texts date back to the 16th century, evoking its looting in 1579 during the Wars of Religion. Partially rebuilt in 1757 (neoclassical choir), she lost her collegiate status in 1790 after the separation of Comines-Nord (France) and Comines-Sud (Belgium). Two restoration campaigns preceded 1914, but its disastrous state in 1911 suggested reconstruction, accelerated by total destruction during the Great War.

The reconstruction is part of a global urban project: the church, oriented towards the town hall and its belfry, structures the central square of Comens. Its hybrid architecture — Romanism of the takeovers, Byzantineism of the plan, Islamic decor — reflects the influences of Dom Bellot, a monk-architect trained in the Netherlands. The monument to the dead of 1914-1918, integrated into the bell tower, highlights its memorial role. Today, the church embodies both post-war resilience and architectural innovation of the 1920s, combining modern functionality and religious symbolism.

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