Carmelite Convent of La Rochefoucauld
Carmes de La Rochefoucauld / Carmelites of La Rochefoucauld
(La Rochefoucauld, Charente)
The Carmelite convent of La Rochefoucauld was founded in 1329 at the initiative of the local lords, who had occupied the castle still standing in the town since the 11th century. The founder was Guy VII de La Rochefoucauld, probably as an act of atonement after being excommunicated by the bishop of Angoulême. The foundation was approved by Pope John XXII.
The Carmelites endured the hardships of the Hundred Years’ War, during which they moved the convent’s most valuable possessions to the castle for safekeeping. Once the situation had stabilised, the monastery entered a period of prosperity; by the mid-16th century it housed a community of twenty-five friars and maintained a school of philosophy and theology. The Wars of Religion had a severe impact on the convent: between 1563 and 1572 it was attacked several times, looted and set on fire. In 1626 it was still in ruins and never fully recovered.
At the time of its suppression during the Revolution, the convent was inhabited by only four friars. Its premises were sold: most of the complex was converted into a school, and the church, desacralised, was used for a time as a cinema. This later use, however, helped preserve much of the buildings, including the large Gothic cloister dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. Today, the former convent houses a cultural centre.
- ORTIZ, Marlise (1999). La Rochefoucauld. Couvent des Carmes. Congrès archéologique de France, 153 ss. 1995. Société Française d'Archéologie
La Rochefoucauld (Charente) is located northeast of Angoulême, on the road to Limoges