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Origin and history

The Benedictine monastery of the Blessed Sacrament of Caen came into being in 1643, when the Benedictine sisters settled in the former hotel of Loraille in the heart of Caen. After the events of the French Revolution, they were resettled in 1816 in the former convent of the Cordeliers, which they rebuilt. Their history changed in 1944: the monastery was destroyed during the Allied bombings during the Battle of Caen. The nuns then took refuge in the castle of Vaux-sur-Aure, near Bayeux, before finding a lasting solution.

The reconstruction of the monastery is part of the reconstruction plan of Caen after the Second World War. Expropriated from their original land, the Benedictines opt for a new site in Coverchef, in the plain of Caen, meeting the requirements of the Ministry of Reconstruction and Urbanism (MRU), which wishes to remove contemplative orders from the city centre. The project is entrusted to architect Jean Zunz, assisted by Marcel Clot, municipal architect. Dom Aubourg, Benedictine monk of Solesmes, and Dom Gabriel Sortais, father general of Cistercians, contribute to the design of the plans, mixing Cistercian tradition and modernity.

The first stone was laid in 1953, and the works were completed in 1959, with a solemn dedication in 1960. Designed for 200 nuns, the monastery is finally adapted to a community reduced to 80 nuns. Despite its scale, the decline in vocations prompted Benedictines to give up some of the premises in 1986 to a retirement home, while preserving the church and the capitular hall. The ensemble, protected since 2005, is distinguished by its modern architecture and its major stained glass window of Sergio de Castro, The Creation of the World, hailed by critics.

The monastery illustrates the adaptation of religious orders to the upheavals of the twentieth century, combining spiritual heritage and architectural innovation. Its refectory, facades and roofs (except for recent additions), as well as the church and the capitular hall, are now protected. Sergio de Castro's window, 6 metres high and 20 metres wide, remains one of the artistic jewels of the site, demonstrating the creative vitality of contemporary sacred art.

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