Chapel of Cité de l'Évangile - Ancienne Chapelle des Carmes in Lille - Discover this open and welcoming religious building

Chapel | XVII | Classical | Catholic Church

Disabled access Toilets

Map

Opening hours

02 January - 30 June
Mon
Tue 14.00 - 17.00
Wed 14.00 - 17.00
Thu 14.00 - 17.00
Fri 14.00 - 17.00
Sat 14.00 - 17.00
Sun

01 September - 30 December
Mon
Tue 14.00 - 17.00
Wed 14.00 - 17.00
Thu 14.00 - 17.00
Fri 14.00 - 17.00
Sat 14.00 - 17.00
Sun

Guided tour

Guided tours for groups: contact +33 (0)3 20 74 46 83 or expoabraham@orange.fr

Religious offices

Times of celebrations in the parish of Saint-Pierre du Vieux-Lille are available on Messes.Info

Description

The entrance to the building is discreet, and you have to pass through the gate indicating ‘Cité de l'Évangile’ to discover the classical building with its triangular pediment. The chapel of the former Carmelite convent was built between 1646 and 1669. Its style is fully in keeping with the Counter-Reformation movement, and the choice of a basilica plan is typical of Jesuit churches, inspired by the Baroque. While the exterior is sober, the interior is an architectural marvel in which art serves faith.

After the confiscation of religious property and the expulsion of the Discalced Carmelites, who had been living in rue de Gand since 1620, the chapel became a stable during the French Revolution. It was not until 1856 that the sisters of the Filles de l'Enfant-Jésus congregation restored the building to religious use.

The chapel, listed as a Historic Monument in 1934, became a parish church under the name Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in 1991, after the nearby church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, known as the ‘Grosse Madeleine’, was disused.

In response to the decline in attendance at places of worship in Lille in the early 2000s, the nave of the church was refurbished to house a permanent exhibition retracing, in eleven stages, the history of the Catholic faith from Abraham to Martin Luther King.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Remarkable elements

Retable

Ce retable monumental est une représentation de L’Enfant Jésus tendant les bras à la croix offerte par le Père, d’après le tableau présent dans l’église Saint-André (Vieux-Lille) de Jacques Van Oost, le jeune.

Les fenêtres du chœur

Situées au-dessus des portes de sacristies, elles donnent sur de petites pièces qui pouvaient servir de chapelles aux religieuses qui pouvaient voir le chœur.

Nathalie Doignies (1778-1858)

Cette figure lilloise est une servante lilloise. Elle fonde la congrégation des Filles de l’Enfant-Jésus pour sortir les pauvres de la misère et témoigner de la bonté du Christ. Elle persuade l’armée, jusqu’à lors occupant de l’édifice, de donner l’ancienne chapelle des carmes déchaussés à sa congrégation.

Le parcours de la Cité de l’Évangile

L’exposition propose une découverte de la culture chrétienne et des racines religieuses de notre société ; avec un souci d'ouverture au Judaïsme et à l'islam.

How to get there