Pentemont Abbey (french: Abbaye de Penthemont, ''Pentemont'', ''Panthemont'' or ''Pantemont'') is a set of 18th and 19th century buildings at the corner of Rue de Grenelle and Rue de Bellechasse in the

7th arrondissement of Paris The 7th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le septième''. The arrondissement, called Palais-Bourbon in a r ...

. The abbey was a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

founded near

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most popul ...

in 1217 and moved to its current site in Paris in 1672 at the behest of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

. A reconstruction of the abbey was initiated in 1745 by the Abbess Marie-Catherine Béthisy de Mézières and work was completed in 1783. In the late 18th century the abbey was one of the most prestigious educational institutions in Paris for daughters of the elite, including two of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

's. The abbey also provided rooms for ladies of good standing who were in search of rest, including

Joséphine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States * Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Co ...

when the case of her separation from her first husband was heard. The abbey was disestablished during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

and the buildings were turned over to military use, first as the home of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, then the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...

, and later the Cent-gardes. It continues to be occupied by the Ministère de la Défense with the exception of the former chapel, which since 1844 has been a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

church, the Temple de Pentemont. In August 2014 the Ministry of Defence, facing budget cuts due to

austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

policies, sold the buildings to a real estate investment trust, ''Foncière des 6ème et 7ème Arrondissements de Paris'', with plans to move all ministry offices out of the abbey by the end of October, 2016.

History

Beauvais (1217–1672)

Philip of Dreux Philip of Dreux (Philippe de Dreux; 1158–1217) was a French nobleman, Bishop of Beauvais, and figure of the Third Crusade. He was an active soldier, an ally in the field of Philip Augustus, the French king and his cousin, making him an opponent ...

, the famed crusader bishop of

, wished to found a convent of the

order. In 1217 he set aside an orchard southwest of Beauvais, on which were traced out the plans for construction, as well as seven arpents (6-7 acres) of vines. Philip died before the project was completed and his successor, Bishop Milo of Nanteuil, raised the rest of the funds, and it was completed in 1218.

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

issued a bull from the

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...

on the 8 June 1230 which sanctioned the new abbey and declared the funds raised for its endowment protected. The abbey took its name, meaning mountain slope, from its location at the foot of the Montagne de St-Symphorien. In 1554 the abbey provided refuge to Charlotte I de Monceaux, the abbess of the neighboring Abbey of Saint-Paul, whose election as abbess was opposed by Henry II. She fled to Pentemont after the arrival of the king's soldiers at her own abbey. However, they followed her to Pentemont and demanded by force that she renounce her position, a request to which she was compelled to accede. In 1671, after the abbey was damaged in a flood, and for economic and geographical reasons, the abbess Hélène de Tourville moved the abbey to Paris. At the time, the convent had twelve sisters. The previous building was demolished and returned to agricultural work as part of the Pentemont farm.

Paris (1672–1790)

Abbaye de Penthemont - Projet de Franque

In Paris the abbey took up residence in a former convent, recently suppressed, of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word, located on Rue de Grenelle at the current site of the abbey. The sisters dedicated themselves to the education of young women and later added rooms in which women of good standing could find rest. The abbey quickly acquired a distinguished reputation and by the time of its dissolution in 1790 had revenues of 58,000 livres, a great sum for the era. The final abbess, Marie III Catherine de Béthisy de Mézières, spent 45 years and a great deal of money rebuilding and expanding the abbey. A competition for plans for a reconstruction attracted multiple proposals including one from the royal architect, François II Franque, which drew praise from

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the '' Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promi ...

in the ''Encyclopédie'' for its combination of grandeur and simplicity. The winning proposal, however, was from Pierre Contant d'Ivry. The many famous students educated at the abbey included the noted abbess and princess Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon, and

Louise d'Esparbès de Lussan Marie Louise d’Esparbès de Lussan, by marriage vicomtesse then comtesse de Polastron ( Bardigues, 19 October 1764 – London, 27 March 1804) was a French lady-in-waiting, known as the mistress of the comte d’Artois, who later reigned as Char ...

, the mistress of the Count of Artois, the future

Charles X of France Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and L ...

's daughters

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...

and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

were both educated at the Pentemont Abbey while he was Minister to France. Their entry into the school was sponsored by the wife of the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

. The future

first lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, a ...

was shocked that Jefferson would send his girls to a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

school but he assured her that there were many

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

at the abbey. Conditions were austere for the students, despite the presence of three princesses, with no fires until the water froze and a prohibition on speaking outside of class and recreation. Her time at the school led Martha, nicknamed Patsy, to write a letter to her father expressing her desire to become a nun. Jefferson quickly removed his daughters from the care of the convent. The abbey also provided elegant apartments to highborn women seeking independence from families or difficult marriages. The ladies were free to come and go as they liked, with constraints on the hours allowed outside the convent, often had their children and servants with them, and spent their evenings socializing and commiserating in the abbey's salons. One such resident was

, the future Empress of France, during her separation from her first husband,

Alexandre de Beauharnais Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom o ...

. The court granted her temporary independence from her husband and required her to stay at Pentemont with her children at the expense of Alexandre. It is also speculated that

James Smithson James Smithson (c. 1765 – 27 June 1829) was an English chemist and mineralogist. He published numerous scientific papers for the Royal Society during the late 1700s as well as assisting in the development of calamine, which would eventually ...

, the founder of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

, who was born in Paris the illegitimate son of the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke o ...

, was born in the Pentemont Abbey, as it had strong connections to the Duke, whose illegitimate daughters it educated.

State Property (1790–2015)

Military

During the

, the Abbey was suppressed and its properties confiscated. The abbey's affairs were wound down in 1791-2, with its properties in Beauvais sold to pay off state debt. With the abbey now state property it came to serve first as home to the

, then the

. In 1835, the building was expanded to Rue de Bellechasse which required the demolition of some parts of the original structure. Under the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

the abbey served as the barracks of the

Cent-gardes Squadron The Cent-gardes Squadron, ( French: L'Escadron des Cent-gardes), also called ''Cent Gardes à Cheval'' (Hundred Guardsmen on Horseback), was an elite cavalry squadron of the Second French Empire primarily responsible for protecting the person of ...

, an elite cavalry unit that provided personal protection for

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

and the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, f ...

. In the twentieth century, Pentemont Abbey housed the Ministry of War Pensions, Bonuses and Benefits. In 1937, a bunker was constructed underneath the Court of Honor including two

stationary bicycle A stationary bicycle (also known as exercise bicycle, exercise bike, spinning bike, spin bike, or exercycle) is a device used as exercise equipment for indoor cycling. It includes a saddle, pedals, and some form of handlebars arranged as on ...

s intended to provide electricity in case of power loss due to enemy bombardment. The courtyard has a war memorial that reads "From veterans to their comrades who gave their lives for their country. In memoriam." It is also home to a number of commemorative plaques, including ones for

André Maginot André Maginot (; 17 February 1877 – 7 January 1932) was a French civil servant, soldier, and Member of Parliament. He is best known for his advocacy of the string of forts known as the Maginot Line. Early years, to World War I Maginot was ...

and

Henri Frenay Henri Frenay Sandoval (1905–1988) was a French military officer and French Resistance member. He was born in Lyon, France, on 11 November 1905, into a Catholic family with a military tradition. He studied the Germanic languages at the Universit ...

Protestant Church

The chapel was used to store grain during the Revolution and later hay when the army took over the abbey. After the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation ...

provided formal recognition of the

Reformed Church in France The Reformed Church of France (french: Église réformée de France, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangel ...

, it was decided that three former Catholic churches in Paris be turned over to Reformed congregations,

Saint-Louis-du-Louvre Saint-Louis-du-Louvre, formerly Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre, was a medieval church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris located just west of the original Louvre Palace. It was founded as Saint-Thomas-du-Louvre in 1187 by Robert of Dreux as a Collegiat ...

, Sainte-Marie-des-Anges, and the chapel of the Pentemont Abbey. In 1598, Protestant worship had been forbidden in Paris by the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

. In 1685, the

Edict of Fontainebleau The Edict of Fontainebleau (22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to practice their religion without ...

made non-Catholic services illegal in all of France. This inaugurated a long period of persecution for French Protestants though some in Paris were able to worship in the chapels of the Dutch and Swedish embassies. The handover of the chapel of the abbey as well as the other churches ushered in a new era of open Protestant worship in Paris. The actual opening of the former abbey as a Reformed congregation was delayed by decades of bureaucratic obstacles as well as opposition during the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Abs ...

to turning over a former Catholic building to Protestant use. It was not until 1844 that architect Victor Baltard began work to convert the chapel into a Protestant church. He isolated the chapel from the rest of the building, added new doors in place of two of the previous windows, and converted the former choir to a nave. He also closed off the original entrance by adding a massive organ, built by

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ buildi ...

and installed in 1846 for the opening of the church. The organ has undergone various modifications over the years including a restoration from 2011-14 to restore the remaining original elements. The church itself underwent restoration from 2005-2007 commissioned by the City of Paris and accomplished by Benjamin Mouton, the chief architect of historic monuments, and the firm Aubert-Labansat.

List of Abbesses of Pentemont

*1219–1236 : Agnès, first prioress *1236–1264 : Marguerite I, first abbesse *1264–12?? : Isabelle *12??–12?? : Ide *12??–1300 : Marie I *1300–1358 : Marguerite II *1358–1375 : Marguerite III de Vuault *1375–1415 : Marguerite IV de Rinceville *1415–1428 : Henriette *1428–1441 : Marthe Maquerelle *1441–1479 : Nicole *1479–1496 : Marguerite V *1496–1516 : Anne I du Castel *1516–1521 : Marguerite VI Trisel *1521–1530 : Anne II *1530–1552 : Huguette de Creilly *1552–1562 : Françoise I Ogier de Berry *1562–1567 : Françoise II de Fontaines *1567–1568 : Catherine I Loisel de Flanbermont *1568–1586 : Marguerite VII Loisel de Flanbermont *1586–1623 : Catherine II de Guiverlay *1623–1633 : Charlotte I de Cavoye *1633–1641 : Jeanne I Thierry *1641–1644 : Jeanne II Ogier de Berry *1644–1667 : Françoise III Le Charon *1667–1715 : Hélène de Costentin de Tourville *1715–1719 : Charlotte II de Colbert-Croissy *1719–1743 : Marie II Anne-Bénigne-Constance-Julie de Rohan-Guéménée *1743–1790 : Marie III Catherine de Béthisy de Mézières Source:

Gallery

File:Paris - Abbaye de Penthemont - 104-106 rue de Grenelle - 002.jpg, The abbey chapel, now a Protestant church File:Abbaye de Penthemont 2.JPG, Entrance from the Court of Honor File:Abbaye de Penthemont armure.JPG, Armor File:P1110278 Paris VII rue de Bellechasse n°37 rwk.JPG, Entrance from Rue de Bellechasse File:Abbaye de Penthemont mom.JPG, Memorial to fallen soldiers File:Abbaye de Penthemont escalier.JPG, Staircase File:Paris - Abbaye de Penthemont - 104-106 rue de Grenelle - 003.jpg, Entrance from Rue de Grenelle File:Abbaye de Penthemont bunker 1.JPG, Entrance to the 1930s era bunker built beneath the Court of Honor File:Abbaye de Penthemont bunker 3.JPG, Bicycles inside the bunker intended to provide electricity File:Abbaye de Penthemont bunker 5.JPG, Bunker door

References

Bibliography

* Jean-Marie Pérouse de Montclos (dir.), ''Le guide du patrimoine. Paris'', Paris, Hachette, 1994 * François Rousseau, « Histoire de l'Abbaye de Pentemont, depuis sa translation à Paris jusqu'à la Révolution », ''Mémoires de la société de l'histoire de Paris et de l'Île-de-France'', v. XLV, 1918, p. 171

External links

The church website
{{in lang, fr
Chemins de Mémoire - Pentemont AbbeyPatrimoine de France - Abbaye de Penthemont
(including photos of the impressive chapel interior)

Buildings and structures in the 7th arrondissement of Paris Christian monasteries established in the 13th century Cistercian nunneries in France 1790 disestablishments in France Christian monasteries in Paris Reformed churches in Paris