Cité de l'Évangile - Ancienne Chapelle des Carmes

Altarpiece

This monumental altarpiece depicts the Baby Jesus reaching out to the cross offered by the Father, based on the painting by Jacques Van Oost the Younger in Saint-André Church (Vieux-Lille). 

The choir windows

Located above the sacristy doors, they overlook small rooms that could be used as chapels for the nuns, who could see the choir. 

Natalie Doignies (1778-1858)

This Lille figure was a servant from Lille. She founded the Congregation of the Daughters of the Child Jesus to lift the poor out of misery and bear witness to the goodness of Christ. She persuaded the army, which had been occupying the building until then, to give the former chapel of the Discalced Carmelites to her congregation.

The exhibition journey through the Cité de l'Évangile

 The exhibition offers an exploration of Christian culture and the religious roots of our society, with an emphasis on openness to Judaism and Islam. 

Statues of Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross

Two leading figures of the Carmelite Order, which they reformed, dominate the choir:

• Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), who advocated a return to greater austerity in Carmelite life and founded numerous monasteries of Discalced Carmelites in Spain;

• Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), whom she called upon to reform the male branch of the order. Both are considered mystics and doctors of the Church.

Stained glass windows

These stained glass windows, which are not historical, reflect the ideal of austerity of the Discalced Carmelites.

Their classic style decoration highlights the symbols featured in the medallions:

• the instruments of the Passion and the Ave Maria on a blue background,

• alternating with the monograms ‘IHS’ (Jesus Saviour of Humanity) on a red background.