I come to my nice Rennes. This time one of the nicest monument , and of course the City is in Îlle et Vilaine dept 35, of my lovelyBretagne, I have come back to this beautiful City after a long hiatus and it was wonderful, Bear with me as the next posts will be on this beautiful City, Let me tell you on the Church Toussaints of Rennes !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Church Toussaints (All Saints), formerly Chapel of St. Thomas, Baroque style counter-Reformation, located south of the Vilaine river ,by rue du Captain-Alfred-Dreyfus. Designed from 1624 to 1651 as the Chapel of St. Thomas College, this chapel became a parish church in 1803, replacing the ancient Church of Toussaints, which was 300 meters away.
The Church Toussaints ,the church of the Jesuits, called to Rennes to hold a college, had a chapel built. This is the current church with its classic facade framed by two towers. It was in 1589 that Rennes called on them to lead the old Saint-Thomas college. In 1606, a contract binded them to the city. They will teach there until 1762, the year when all the Jesuits will be chased from France on royal order. In Rennes, they will hold one of the most important colleges in the kingdom, The Jesuit college occupied the site of the current Lycée Émile Zola. The last buildings will be destroyed in 1883.
The Church Toussaints was built from 1624 ,and the consecration of the church dates from 1651. In 1762, the Company of Jesus was dissolved by the Parliament of Brittany. In college, education is then provided by the diocesan clergy ; during the French revolution, the building is disused. In 1803, when the Concordat restored worship, it became the parish Church Toussaints to replace the old church of the same name, which became ammunition deposit, destroyed by a fire in December 1793. It shines with the perfect symmetry of the western facade which remains the only interesting element. The elevation on three floors can be seen as the juxtaposition of three vertical bodies whose pilasters are wearing, from bottom to top, of Doric, Ionic and Corinthian capitals. Above the door, a semicircular arcade above decorates with its double bay, the center of the central floor. Elsewhere, niches are housed in bays dominated with a triangular pediment.
The artistic interest of this former Jesuit church rests in the three great altarpieces drawn up in the choir and the transept. Baroque style, they date from the second half of the 17C. The two altarpieces drawn up in the transept, to the north and south, belong to the Laval school. The great altarpiece of the choir, built between 1653 and 1657, the stained glass windows of the church were creations of the Max Ingrand workshop and are probably dated from the 1950s. The Chair to be preached from the 19C, altarpiece of Sainte Anne made in the third quarter of the 17C, Altarpiece of the Annunciation produced in the last third of the 17C, Agony of Christ at the Gardens of Oliviers after Lemoyne and produced in the 19C, Annunciation, according to Lebrun ,and made in the 19C, The altarpiece of the choir was made in the middle of the 17C.
A bit of history I like tell us that a Chapel of Toussaints existed in Rennes at the end of the 10C, occupied by hermits of St Augustine and dependent on a parish established in a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. Its location corresponds to that of the central market halls built in 1922. The All Saints ‘ Chapel was rebuilt during the 15C and 16C, despite the collapse of the bell tower in 1482 and a tower in 1513. This one, rebuilt in the 17C, collapses again in 1715 to be rebuilt from 1764.
The municipal Royal College of Saint-Thomas-Becket , (as middle school and future high school Émile-Zola) is founded around 1534 and moves into the buildings of the old Priory St. Thomas, near the Church of Toussaints. In 1604 the Jesuits were entrusted with the instruction until 1762. The two Chapels of the Collège ,Saint-Thomas and Saint-Marc, revealing themselves too small, the instructions given to built the Grande Chapelle Saint-Thomas consecrated in 1651. The main altarpiece of the All Saints ‘ Church of Rennes dates from 1653.
During the French revolution, in 1789, schoolchildren and soldiers occupied the new St. Thomas Chapel on several occasions. The college became a central school in 1795 and then high school (lycée) in 1803. The seat of the parish is transferred to the Chapel of St. Thomas in 1803, which takes the name of the Church of Toussaints and is no longer attached to the school. Nevertheless, a passage from a courtyard of the same establishment remains, until the 1970’s, the only way to access the right-hand tribune overlooking the choir as the headmaster’s Tribune, reserved for the administrative staff of the school. It was restored in 1834, then in the middle of the 20C and again in 2013. It is today the seat of the parish of Toussaints Holy Family.
The Rennes tourist office on religious heritage so Toussaints: https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/decouvrir-rennes/histoire/eglises-parcours-patrimoine/
The Diocese of Rennes on the Church Toussaints : https://rennes.catholique.fr/paroisses/toussaints-de-rennes/
There you go folks ,another jewel in my wonderful capital city of Rennes. The walks are worth it with plenty of lovely areas, Again, hope you enjoy the poston the Church Toussaints of Rennes !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
