Part of a Series on Vincentian Heritage Places

Historic Motherhouse Chapel of the Sisters of Charity

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A Foundation Born After the Revolution

In the historic center of Besançon, the chapel of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne-Antide Thouret preserves the memory of a religious family born amid one of the most turbulent periods in French history. The congregation traces its foundation to April 11, 1799, when Jeanne-Antide Thouret opened a school for poor girls in the city and began gathering companions around a life of prayer, community, education, and service. The official history of the congregation identifies Rue des Martelots as the location of this first community.

Jeanne-Antide had returned to the Besançon region after years of displacement and religious persecution during the French Revolution. Her earliest ministries included teaching children, nursing the sick, feeding people in need, and assisting a local Church still recovering from revolutionary upheaval. From this modest beginning, the Sisters of Charity expanded into hospitals, schools, prisons, parishes, and missions far beyond France.

The chapel standing today was not yet present at the congregation’s foundation. It was constructed between 1844 and 1847, after Jeanne-Antide’s death, as the community grew and required a permanent spiritual center. It consequently belongs to the second generation of the congregation’s history, while remaining inseparable from the Besançon house where its identity developed.

A Nineteenth-Century Convent Sanctuary

The chapel is integrated into the large convent complex between Rue des Martelots and Grand-Rue. For this reason, it is sometimes described as the chapel of 2 Rue des Martelots and sometimes as the Grand-Rue 131 chapel. Rather than presenting the monumental façade of a public church, it is discovered within the religious house, creating a sense of entering a protected place of silence in the middle of the city.

Its architecture reflects the devotional character of a nineteenth-century convent chapel. The interior is arranged around a luminous sanctuary dedicated to Mary, the Immaculate Virgin, with pale architectural surfaces, delicate gilded decoration, and a richly articulated apse. Large stained-glass-shaped windows bring light into the building, while the proportions of the nave create an intimate yet spacious environment for community worship.

The Sisters also emphasize the chapel’s remarkable acoustics. It continues to host sacred celebrations, diocesan gatherings, and choral concerts, demonstrating that the building is not simply a historic monument but a living place of prayer and encounter. Parish Masses are celebrated there during part of the year, and members of the cathedral chapter have also gathered in the chapel for worship.

The altar in the chapel. Source: https://www.suoredellacarita.org/

A Living Expression of the Vincentian Charism

The chapel’s deepest importance lies in its connection with the Vincentian tradition. Jeanne-Antide entered the Daughters of Charity in 1787, receiving formation at Langres and Paris and learning to serve Christ in people who were sick and poor. When she later founded her own congregation, she drew the first elements of its Rule of Life from Saint Vincent de Paul’s spiritual and apostolic heritage.

Jeanne-Antide regarded Saint Vincent as father, model, patron, protector, and spiritual founder of her institute. His conviction that prayer must lead directly to organized and compassionate service became central to her own mission. The poor were not passive recipients of assistance, but persons to be approached with respect, patience, tenderness, and generosity.

Images and reminders of both Saint Jeanne-Antide and Saint Vincent de Paul therefore belong naturally in the chapel. Together, they direct worshippers beyond the walls of the sanctuary toward those in need. As the Sisters themselves explain, the chapel reminds them that, even while they pray, “the poor are at our doorstep.” It is this union of contemplation and service that makes the historic Besançon chapel an especially meaningful place for the worldwide Vincentian Family.

Painting of St. Vincent de Paul in the chapel. Source: https://www.suoredellacarita.org/

Painting of St. Jeanne-Antide Thouret in the chapel. Source: https://www.suoredellacarita.org/

Address: 2 Rue des Martelots, 25000 Besançon, France.
Website: https://www.suoredellacarita.org/en/besancon-the-treasure-of-the-grand-rue-131-chapel/

All Vincentian Churches in this Series

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