Cordeliers Convent of Châteauroux

The convent was already in existence before 1248, although the friars may have settled there earlier in a provisional foundation. From the second half of the thirteenth century onwards, the Franciscan convent of Châteauroux appears frequently in documentary sources. It was established on a spacious site donated by its founder, within the town walls. According to tradition, Anthony of Padua (1195–1231) visited the site. The convent became the burial place of the lords of Chauvigny, with the exception of the founder himself, who was buried at the Abbey of Déols (Indre). This suggests that, although the community was already established by 1234, the church had not yet been completed.

By the time of the French Revolution in 1789, the community had dwindled to only two friars, who left the convent in 1791. The church and conventual buildings were subsequently used for various purposes, including as a prison and military barracks. In 1803, the church resumed religious worship as the parish church of Saint-André, a role it retained until 1876, when the parish was transferred to a newly built church dedicated to the same patron saint. Both the church and the conventual buildings were restored during the last quarter of the twentieth century.