Foyer Marie Jean – Domaine Saint Antoine

Located in Grand-Couronne, 25 minutes from Rouen, the Domaine Saint Antoine offers spiritual retreats in Normandy year-round.

On the edge of the Londe-Rouvray forest, this peaceful place provides an ideal setting for a Christian retreat, a time of silence,prayer, and renewal.

A place steeped in history in the heart of Normandy

The history of the Domaine begins in 1657, when Antoine de Gomont acquired 200 hectares of the Rouvray forest, had it cleared, and built an architectural complex in brick and limestone:château,farm buildings, and a chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony.

Surrounded by a perimeter wall and towers, the "Domaine du Petit-Essart" (from the Latin exsartum, meaning cleared land) became the historic heart of the hamlet of Les Essarts.

In the 19th century, the original château was replaced by the current building. The chapel was restored and its bell tower transformed in 1885 by the decorative ironworker Ferdinand Marrou, known in particular for his work at Rouen Cathedral.

In the 1920s, the Domaine took on a spiritual dimension. The Assumptionists developed a hospitality mission there and built the Maison Notre-Dame in 1936, featuring a large chapel adorned with a mosaic of the Assumption. From 1966 onward, the place became a retreat and Christian formation center for many young people and adults from the Rouen area.

In 1990, the Domaine was entrusted to the Communauté des Béatitudes, and then, in 2024, to the Foyer Marie Jean community, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Rouen. After fifteen months of renovation work, a fully refurbished guest house opened in November 2025 to welcome retreatants in comfortable and warm surroundings.

In the footsteps of the Foyer Marie Jean

The origins of the Foyer Marie Jean

The Foyer Marie Jean is a Catholic community of a contemplative type, made up of brothers and sisters consecrated to God through the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Founded by Nicole Échivard (Shoushân), accompanied by her husband Jean-Baptiste, the Foyer Marie Jean was born in the diocese of Lyon in the 1980s. It currently has 27 members and 2 postulants.

The sisters' branch is under the authority of a Prioress; the brothers' branch is under the authority of a Prior. The Foyer Marie Jean as a whole is governed by a President. To honor the spiritual motherhood of Mary, the Constitutions of the Foyer establish that it will always be a woman who governs the entire Foyer, in collaboration with the Priors and assisted by her Council.

After a journey of deepening its vocation and gaining ecclesial recognition, it was erected in 2016 by Bishop Jean-Louis Balsa, bishop of Viviers (Ardèche), as a "Public Association of the Faithful with a view to becoming an Ecclesial Family of Consecrated Life," of diocesan right. The Foyer Marie Jean falls under the authority of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life in Rome.

The rhythm of community life

To lead their contemplative-style communal consecrated life, the brothers and sisters make use of the classic means of union with God, including:

• As a community, they participate each day in the celebration of Mass(some brothers are priests) and sing Lauds, the Midday Prayer, and Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours. Most of the melodies are composed by the community, most often sung in four-part harmony. The sisters and brothers celebrate the Vigils of the Resurrection on Saturday evening, and the mysteries of Holy Week and the Easter Season with particular care.
• From Tuesday to Friday, they devote at least one hour per day to lectio divina: prayerful reading of the Word of God, the writings of the Magisterium and the saints, their Book of Life, and other spiritual texts. Saturday is a sabbath/formation day, devoted more particularly to formation, to community gatherings for spiritual deepening, and to spiritual reading.
• Each day, they devote at least an hour and a half together to silent prayer. This is a privileged time for becoming present to God and a precious help for remaining united to his Presence throughout their days, in intercession for the whole world.
• From Sunday afternoon through Monday evening, the community lives each week a day and a half of contemplation and asceticism, a beneficial and even necessary time of rest,reconnecting with nature, possibly walking, and above all a more intimate and personal encounter with God.

Inspired by listening to the Word of God, learning to live in community, and a life closely connected to nature, the community has committed itself to integral ecology. The undeniable degradation of the environment and of ethics, and their social consequences, drive them to live this out in ever more concrete ways,in the spirit of Pope Francis's Encyclical Laudato Si'.

Their daily life includes the many tasks — which they are committed to carrying out themselves — involved in community life or guest reception(cooking, cleaning, gardening, maintenance work, some crafts...). A few brothers and sisters also work part-time outside the community to help meet its needs (teachers, nurses, a doctor).

Living a spiritual retreat in Normandy

The Domaine Saint Antoine welcomes anyone wishing to experience a spiritual retreat in Normandy, whether for a few days of silence or for a structured Christian retreat.

Simple hospitality

Throughout the year, it is possible to come and spend a time of "desert":

• silence and rest
• human and spiritual renewal
• participation in the liturgy
• possibility of spiritual guidance
• sacrament of reconciliation.

The sober beauty of the place, the liturgical chant, and the times of silence foster interior recollection.
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Preached retreats and spiritual stops

Spiritual weekends (four teachings) and five-and-a-half-day retreats (two daily teachings) are offered regularly. Grounded in the Word of God and the teaching of the Church, these times allow participants to deepen their faith or rediscover God in a structured and nurturing setting.

Major liturgical feasts

It is also possible to experience the Easter Triduum and the great Christian feasts on site, in order to be fully immersed in the richness of the liturgy.

A renovated and welcoming guest house

The guest house currently includes:

• 23 rooms(16 single and 7 double), several with a shower
• two chapels open to guests: the Notre-Dame chapel and the Saint-Antoine chapel (17th century)
• meeting rooms for study stays
• a convivial dining room
• a tree-lined park conducive to contemplation.

Meals, simple and balanced, are prepared with care, using local or organic produce wherever possible. They are taken in silence, except for the final meal of preached retreats, which becomes a time of fraternal sharing.

A privileged natural setting near Rouen

The Domaine Saint Antoine is located in the Normandy region, in the commune of Grand-Couronne, south of Rouen. It is accessible:

• 25 minutes from Rouen
• 1 hour from Le Havre
• approximately 1.5 hours from Paris

The park adjoins the Londe-Rouvray forest, ideal for meditative walks. Nearby:

• the historic center of Rouen
• Jumièges Abbey
• the Côte d'Albâtre and its cliffs