Spring 2022

The Jesuit Chapel
Next door to the library, the Jesuit Chapel
was built from 1615 to 1640 by Jean du Blocq
(1583-1656), a Jesuit architect who also
designed the Cathedral of Luxembourg. He
was inspired by Gesù, the Jesuit church in
Rome, combined with Gothic style. It’s here
that Founding Fathers Charles Carroll, signer
of the Declaration of Independence, Daniel
Carroll, one of the Constitution’s two authors,
and John Carroll who became America’s first
Catholic Bishop and founder of Georgetown
University, spent many years studying. It’s now
used as a performance and cultural venue,
though is currently undergoing a restoration.
Abbey of Saint-Bertin
By the neo-classical train station of Saint-
Omer, one of the most beautiful in France
and a listed historic monument, you’ll find
the remains of Saint Bertin’s Abbey. Sadly
destroyed during the French Revolution, it was
at this location on the edge of the marsh that
a Swiss monk called Omer, sent to become
Bishop of nearby Thérouanne in 637, founded
an abbey in what was known then as Sitiu. It
became the Abbey of Saint Bertin, named
after one of Omer’s helpers, while the town
that grew up around it became Saint-Omer.
The abbey was expanded over the years and
was updated to the Gothic style now evident
in the ruins.
It was here in 1165 that Thomas Beckett who
became a Saint, sought refuge from Henry
II. The abbey became so important that a
prince’s quarters was built for visiting Kings
and Queens. Francis 1 came here on his way
to the Field of the Cloth of Gold Summit with
Henry VIII in nearby Guînes. Historians believe
that Anne Boleyn may also have been there
in the retinue of Queen Claude, wife of King
France, though no one knows if she met Henry
VIII at this time. Coincidentially, it was from
Saint-Omer that Henry VIII later sought a
swordsman to lop off poor Anne’s head.
Louis XIV also came here in 1677 when Saint-
Omer, which had been under Spanish rule,
was taken back by the French. He visited the
floating islands of the marshes that surround
the town, famous even then. In fact he was
so impressed he returned three years later
with the entire royal family and the court
and stayed at the Governor’s Hotel at the
spot where the Sandelin Museum now is. The
people of Saint-Omer marked his first visit
with an inscription on the grand doors to the
Cathedral, which is still there. Louis rewarded
the town by having his engineer Vauban
reinforce the rampart walls which now encircle
a beautiful park.
The Good Life France | 31