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Origin and history

The Seminary of Saint Sulpice of Issy-les-Moulineaux is an ecclesiastical institution founded in the 17th century by Jean-Jacques Olier, destined for the formation of priests. Installed on an estate acquired in 1655 by Alexandre Le Ragois de Bretonvilliers, successor to Olier, the site was originally a seigneurial home belonging to Marguerite de Valois (1606-1615), then to Louis XIII. The site became a centre for theological and philosophical studies, welcoming major figures such as Bossuet, Fénelon and Talleyrand during the famous Interviews of Issy (1694-1695).

The estate, the only large ensemble of the Ancien Régime in its entirety, underwent major transformations after the Revolution and the Commune of Paris (1871). The current buildings combine ancient elements – such as the Italian nymph (17th century), the circular basin (18th century) and a vaulted passage of the 16th century – with later reconstructions, including the large neo-classical chapel (1898-1901) decorated with stained glass windows by Felix Gaudin. The site also houses historical remains, such as the cells of Archbishop Georges Darboy and the seminarian Paul Seigneret, shot in 1871, reconstructed in the crypt.

Ranked and inscribed in historical monuments in 1995-96, the seminary remains a place of interdiocesan formation, led by the Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice. His park, his chapels (Notre-Dame-de-All-Graces, Lorette, Solitude) and his nymph, where the debates between Fénelon and Bossuet took place, testify to his intellectual and spiritual role for four centuries. The estate has also welcomed prominent personalities, such as Ernest Renan or Cardinal de Fleury, and today trains seminarians from several French and foreign dioceses.

The history of the seminary is also linked to tragic events: the partial destruction during the Commune, the forced relocation since Paris in 1905 (law of separation of the Churches and the State), and the memory of the ecclesiasticals who died during the First World War, honored by a monument erected around 1920. Despite these changes, the site has preserved its architectural unity and outreach, as evidenced by its recent restorations and heritage classification.

Among the remarkable elements, the tunnel of the sixteenth century, linking the main building to the Loreto pavilion, and the Saint-Joseph edicle, classified with the underground passage under Minard Street, underline the ingenuity of the old developments. The stones used for the reconstructions of the 19th century come from the quarries of Clamart, while the stained glass windows of the large chapel, works of Léon Tournel, illustrate the sacred art of the period. The seminar remains a symbol of religious and cultural continuity in Île-de-France.

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