Saint-Paul Convent of Thiviers

The Saint-Paul convent is an old convent located in Thiviers in Dordogne. It was founded as an orphanage and educational home for young girls. Since 2019, it has been a spiritual retreat center run by Abbot Aulagnier. The convent, located on Bertran de Born street, at the gates of the Périgord-Limousin regional natural park, in the Green Périgord, was founded in 1870 by Miss Augustine Faure, daughter of a lawyer from Thiviers. She called upon the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary, who came from Treignac, to open an orphanage, day school, and boarding school for young girls; however, they were expelled by the anti-congregational laws of 1901. During the war of 1914-1918, it was transformed into a military hospital for 220 wounded soldiers, cared for by the Sisters of the Cross of Lavaur, and then resumed its original function with the Sisters of Lavaur, who merged with other communities to form the Congregation of the Sisters of Christ in 1976. The convent-school closed in the 1980s, and the nuns moved to another house in the village. A few years later, the convent was converted into a medical-social center, still owned by the sisters; but too expensive to maintain, the nuns sold it in 1991 for a symbolic franc to the association "Partage," which helps the unemployed and runs various activities. The association was dissolved in 1999, and the building remained abandoned for many years. It was squatted and even set on fire. In 2012, it was bought by a property developer to be transformed into a luxury hotel; however, due to a lack of visibility on the project, it was abandoned again.

Wikipedia