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Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame-de-Sainte-Croix, located in Le Mans, is a religious building emblematic of the neighborhood that bears its name. Originally, this neighborhood was a suburb of the city, known for its vineyards maintained by religious orders. The early church, built in the 6th century by Bertrand, first served as a chapel to a hospice before being erected as a parish at the end of the 10th century. It was destroyed in 1794, marking the end of its first existence.

The church was reborn in the 19th century thanks to Basile Moreau, founder of the Congregation of the Fathers of St. Croix. In 1835 he built a new neo-Gothic building, designed by Abbé Tournesac and consecrated in 1857. The site then includes a boarding school, now the St. Croix High School. The church has been home to a Basile Moreau layer in its southern transept since 2014.

In 1870, the buildings were bought by the Marquis of Nicolai, who gave them to the Jesuits. At the beginning of the twentieth century, after their departure, the places were occupied by the Army until 1931, when the church was restored to worship. Its architecture, inspired by the Middle Ages, reflects structural simplicity, with elements such as the ciborium rising above the altar, inspired by Dom Geranger of Solesmes.

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