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Saint-Etienne Church
Religious building, Listed or registered (CNMHS), Historic site and monument
in Le Marin
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The Capuchin priest Jean-Marie de Coutances served the parish of Le Marin from September 1759 until his death in July 1779.
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He undertook the construction of the parish church, which succeeded a chapel built and rebuilt by the Capuchins. The first stone of the new building was laid in 1766 by the General Governor of the West Indies.
It is however the Father of Coutances who assumed the erection of the church with his own funds, the parishioners being too poor to finance the work. He also carried out the renovation of the presbytery. Thus, in his letters of March 14th and April 9th 1778 to the Minister of the Navy,...He undertook the construction of the parish church, which succeeded a chapel built and rebuilt by the Capuchins. The first stone of the new building was laid in 1766 by the General Governor of the West Indies.
It is however the Father of Coutances who assumed the erection of the church with his own funds, the parishioners being too poor to finance the work. He also carried out the renovation of the presbytery. Thus, in his letters of March 14th and April 9th 1778 to the Minister of the Navy, he requested the 500 pounds of his pension.
Inside the building, a plaque pays tribute to him, while another recalls the action of two Brothers of Ploërmel, Marcelin-Marie Rouzioux, founder and director of the school for nearly thirty years. The role of religious in education was considerable, especially in the first thirty years after the abolition of slavery. They educated former slaves and their children. Théodore Baude had these plates affixed in 1949.
The side chapels of the church were added in 1853-1854, at the instigation of Father Ozier-Bellevue, helped this time by a subscription and by the voluntary labour of the parishioners. Its 18th century facade is in cut stone and its octagonal belfry in Indian wood comes from the Morne Gommier.
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