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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer de Camiers, located in the Pas-de-Calais department, replaces two former buildings that had disappeared under the sands. In 1755, the first church was buried by a storm, as had been the nearby village of Rombly a century earlier. A second church, built around 1771, suffered the same fate, pushing the inhabitants to mention this problem in their 1789 grievance books.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Fr. Bloquel revived the project of a new church, supported financially by Émile Ponche in tribute to her cousin, Mrs. Magnier, whose legacy of 100,000 francs allowed construction. The current building, designed by the Parisian architect Louis Faille, was completed in 1913 in a neo-Roman style. His blessing, originally scheduled for August 1914, was postponed to November 29 due to World War I.

The interior is distinguished by a nave of five spans, a three-paned choir, and twelve stained glass windows made in 1914 by Raoul Cagnart, Amienese master glassmaker. Two of them, representing Saint-Georges and Saint-Patrice, were offered by English soldiers stationed in Camiers during the war. A third stained glass window, dedicated to Sainte-Geneviève, was later added by veterans of the Gun Corps machine in memory of their fallen comrades.

The church underwent major restorations in 2008-2009, funded by the Heritage Foundation and the departmental council, while its stained glass windows were restored in 2019. Today attached to the parish "Our Lady of Foy" of the dean of Berck-Montreuil, it bears witness to both local natural challenges and regional military history.

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