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Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc du Mans, originally named Hôtel-Dieu de Coëffort, was founded in 1180 by Henry II Plantagenet, King of England and Count of Maine, in atonement for the murder of Thomas Becket. Built in Plantagenet style, it was located on the outskirts of the medieval city, near a pilgrimage road, and served as a hospital for the sick, the poor and the pilgrims. The building, placed under the authority of the bishop, also became a place of forgiveness and distribution of indulgences, before welcoming children found in the fourteenth century.

In the 17th century, the hospital was entrusted to the Lazarists, who installed a seminary there and transformed the great room of the sick into a chapel in 1649, under the impulse of Saint Vincent de Paul. After the Revolution, the building became a national good: its furniture was dispersed, and it even served as a stable for the army. In 1923, he took the name of Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc church with the creation of the homonymous parish, before being classified as a historical monument in 1947. Its restoration, begun in 1951, revealed in 1953 the treasure of Coëffort, an exceptional collection of 14th century medieval goldsmithy, now exposed to the archaeological museum of Le Mans.

The treasure, composed of 31 silver pieces (cuts, spoons, ewer), was buried in 1420 to escape the British looting during the Hundred Years War. The pieces, marked with the "C" stamp for Coëffort, testify to the rare artistic unity of medieval civil goldsmithy. The church, with its 21 Gothic vaults, 13th century murals (like the mystical Lamb) and modern stained glass windows signed Max Ingrand, combines Plantagenet heritage and religious heritage. Its architecture, typical of the hospitals-monuments of the West, makes it a major witness to the hospital and artistic history of Le Mans.

Inside, 50 meters long, preserves 12th century capitals, 17th century tapestries (including a representative Jeanne d'Arc, woven at Aubusson in 1656), and traces of military occupation, such as hanging hooks for riders. The stained glass windows, installed after 1955, celebrate figures related to the history of the place: Henry II, Jeanne d'Arc, Saint Vincent de Paul, and Cardinal Grente, craftsman of the church's cult renaissance. The adjacent seminary, destroyed in 1962, left room for Touchard and Washington high schools.

Ranked since 1947, the church is today a place of worship and memory, where the tombstone of Father Jean Briand, pastor of restorer in 1991, recalls the commitment to its preservation. The treasure of Coëffort, with its Gothic cups and golden acorn spoons, remains a world reference for medieval civil goldsmithy, while the building embodies the transition between medieval hospitality and contemporary religious heritage.

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