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Origin and history

The Toussaints church, originally church of the Collège Saint-Thomas, was built between 1624 and 1651 in Rennes under the direction of three Jesuit architects: Étienne Martellange, Charles Turmel and Pierre Goict. In a counter-reform Baroque style, it replaced in 1803 the former parish church of Toussaints, destroyed after a fire in 1793. His main altarpiece, attributed to Charles Turmel (1653), and his Lavallois altarpieces (1679) testify to his rich artistic heritage.

The original chapel of Toussaints, attested from the 10th century, belonged to Augustinian hermits before becoming a parish dependent on the Viscounty of Rennes. Rebuilt in the 15th to 16th centuries after several collapses (1482, 1513, 1715), it was finally demolished between 1801 and 1807. The present church, classified as a historical monument in 1922, preserves traces of its Jesuit past, such as the "principal" stand, accessible from the Emile-Zola high school until the 1970s.

During the Revolution, the church of the college served as a place of oath for officers (1789) and then became central school (1795). After 1803, modifications were made (baptistery, collateral, sacristy) for its parish use. Restored in 1834 by Joseph Antoine Léofanti, then in the 20th century by Raymond Cornon, it now houses the parish Toussaints Sainte-Famille, as well as an Orthodox chapel dedicated to Saint John of Cronstadt in his left flank.

A landmark event in its recent history was the December 20, 2019 rundown, where a teenager fired shots (unrecovered gun) during a high school fight near the church. This incident, filmed and viralized, highlighted tensions around the neighbouring high school. The building, owned by the commune, remains a symbol of the religious and architectural heritage of Rennes, mixing Jesuit, Baroque and local history.

The original plans, preserved at the BnF, reveal the evolution of the project: Martellange initiates a sober facade, while Turmel added columns, pilasters and frontons, typical of the Counter-Reform. The vaults (nef ridges, warheads for the lower side) and the cupola of the transept illustrate this influence. Ranked since 1922, the church was also restored between 2013 and 2015, preserving its carved decoration and coat of arms.

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