Couvent des sœurs de l'Assomption

The Couvent des sœurs de l'Assomption is the motherhouse of the Religieuses de l'Assomption, a Catholic women's religious congregation, standing on rue de l'Assomption in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, in the historic Auteuil neighborhood. The site traces nearly two centuries of religious history in Paris, from the congregation's founding in 1839 through expulsion in the early twentieth century to its later return and rebuilding.

Who founded the congregation, and where does its name come from?

The Religieuses de l'Assomption was founded in Paris in 1839 by Anne-Eugénie Milleret de Brou, later known in religion as Marie-Eugénie de Jésus. From 1841 the young community placed itself under the spiritual guidance of Father Emmanuel d'Alzon, forging a lasting link with the Assumptionist family of congregations. The name refers to the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a devotion central to the founder's spirituality.

What happened to the original convent in Auteuil?

The sisters took over a country estate in Auteuil that included a château, which they converted into a boarding school for girls, while building monastic quarters in the surrounding park. The community grew here for decades until 1906, when French laws separating church and state forced the sisters out of the property. The château itself stood empty for another two decades before being demolished in 1927; the following year, most of the former estate was subdivided into building plots, giving rise to the quiet residential streets that now make up this corner of the 16th arrondissement.

When did the sisters return, and how was today's chapel built?

The congregation came back to the site in 1953, taking over one of the surviving buildings of the old estate at what is now 17 rue de l'Assomption. This building remains the congregation's motherhouse today. In 1961 the design of a new convent chapel was entrusted to architect Noël Le Maresquier, who built it in the stark brutalist idiom typical of postwar French religious architecture. The chapel is now the most visible and recognizable part of the convent complex from the street.

Where does the name rue de l'Assomption come from?

The street itself takes its name directly from the convent of the Sisters of the Assumption that once stood on this ground — an unusually direct case of Parisian street naming tied to a specific religious community rather than to a saint or a general religious theme.

Is it worth a stop while exploring Auteuil?

The convent remains an active religious house rather than a museum or a conventional tourist site, and access to the interior is limited to the sisters and those connected with the community. For someone walking through Auteuil, though, the site is a tangible trace of a much larger convent estate that once stood here — today reduced mainly to a street name and the silhouette of a postwar chapel. It offers a concrete entry point into how twentieth-century French religious and political history, particularly the laws on the separation of church and state, reshaped the built landscape of the neighborhood.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Couvent des sœurs de l'Assomption? It is the motherhouse of the Religieuses de l'Assomption, a women's religious congregation founded in Paris in 1839.

Where exactly is it located? At 17 rue de l'Assomption, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, in the historic Auteuil neighborhood.

Who founded the congregation? Marie-Eugénie de Jésus (Anne-Eugénie Milleret de Brou), guided spiritually from 1841 by Father Emmanuel d'Alzon.

Why did the sisters leave the site in 1906? French laws separating church and state forced the congregation off its original Auteuil estate.

What happened to the original château? It was demolished in 1927, and the grounds were subdivided the following year for new residential housing.

When was the current chapel built? In 1961, designed by architect Noël Le Maresquier in a brutalist style.

Can visitors tour the convent? No — it is an active religious community, and interior access is not open to the general public as a tourist attraction.