Why did they tear down the Chapelle Saint-Joseph? This church stood in Lille. It was a neo-Gothic building from 1886. Auguste Mourcou designed it.
The Chapelle Saint-Joseph was demolished to make way for the Junia campus. Junia is a private engineering school. The new campus needed space. The project cost 128 million euros. It will house 5,000 to 8,000 students. Some spaces now stand where the church once did.
The demolition was controversial. Many people in the cultural world protested. They wanted to save the Chapelle Saint-Joseph. They asked for a cultural interest restriction. But the Ministry of Culture refused. They said the chapel’s patrimonial interest wasn’t high enough. They claimed it was in very bad shape. An architect disagreed. He said it could be restored.
The Chapelle Saint-Joseph was part of a larger complex. This was the Collège Saint-Paul. Palais Rameau was the main building. Auguste Mourcou also designed it. Palais Rameau will be restored. Destroying the chapel ruined the complex’s unity.
Critics questioned the Ministry’s reasons. They said the chapel’s disinterest and the need for higher education weren’t good enough reasons for demolition. They appealed to ministers to save the Chapelle Saint-Joseph. The G7 Patrimoine wrote a letter. They asked for the chapel to be included in the school project. They wanted to integrate it instead of destroying it. Urgences Patrimoine also asked for a postponement. But it was all in vain.
The demolition caused outrage. Stéphan Bern criticized the decision. He called those responsible demolitionists. Didier Rykner said those responsible should be named. He blamed the Junia school and the Catholic University of Lille. He also blamed those who should have protected the heritage. He named people in the government and the Ministry of Culture. He felt they had the power to stop it.
The Chapelle Saint-Joseph is gone now. It was demolished despite the protests. The Catholic University of Lille had it bulldozed. It stood for 135 years. It was built by the Jesuits. Now, a new student building stands in its place. The Rameau Palace remains. It is being restored.