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Origin and history

The monastery of Notre-Dame-des-Seven-Douleurs de Blagnac, now the convent of Sainte-Catherine-de-Sienne, is a religious complex located in the Toulouse suburbs. Founded in the 19th century around a 17th century castle, it was successively occupied by Trappistines, Dominicans, and then the Community of Beatitudes. The site includes a neogothic church consecrated in 1862, a 17th century castle and 17th and 19th century outbuildings. The convent buildings, begun in 1862, were never completed.

The castle was originally built in the 17th century by Jean d'Aldeguier, Baron and Treasurer of Toulouse, then modified by Gaspard de Maniban, President of the Toulouse Parliament. In 1810 he was acquired by the general of Empire Jean Dominique Compans, who died there in 1845. After a period of gallant festivals, the estate was expropriated and purchased in 1852 by the Trappistines of the Abbey of Maubec (Drôme). Between 1860 and 1862 they built the church and the convent buildings.

During the 1870 war, the sisters treated French wounded in an outbuilding called Saint-Clément. They also opened a free school for the girls of Blagnac in 1854, transferred in 1859 to Saint-Benoît after the collapse of the first house. In 1914-1918 the capitular hall became a temporary hospital for wounded and sick annamites. Faced with increasing urbanization, the Trappistines left Blagnac in 1938 for the Gironde.

In 1939, Dominicans took possession of the convent. During World War II, the hotel industry was requisitioned by 200 German Luftwaffe soldiers (July 1943 - August 1944), then by FFI until 1945. Damage, especially to stained glass windows, was repaired after the war. In 1946, Louis Mazetier, a glass painter, directed 19 glass windows in grey, two stained glass windows and expressionist murals (1946-1951), classified as Historic Monuments in 2001.

Since the 1950s, the monastery has diversified its activities (bounding, moulding of statues, pasta) and transformed a family pension into a retirement home. Since 1987, Dominicans have been living with the Community of Beatitudes. The church, its murals and stained glass windows, of neo-Gothic style, have been protected since 2001. The convent illustrates the evolution of religious and social uses of a major architectural heritage in Occitanie.

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