The Center's History

Prehistory and Antiquity

Human presence on the site dates back to the Neolithic period. In Roman times, an oppidum crowned the top of the hill to monitor the routes connecting Lyon, Grenoble, and Valence.

Refuge for the Bishops of Grenoble

At the beginning of the Christian era, the bishops of Grenoble and Vienne took refuge in Parménie. They built a chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross, making Parménie a pilgrimage site.

Pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Holy Cross

On the night of September 14, 1219, the breaking of a natural dam on the Romanche River caused a flood, resulting in many casualties throughout the Grenoble plain. Starting on September 14, 1220, under the leadership of the bishop of Grenoble, survivors commemorated the tragedy by making a pilgrimage to Parménie. This pilgrimage attracted many pilgrims and merchants. The local lord, Guy de Tullins, decided to establish a town in the plain: Beaucroissant, still renowned today for its large annual fair.

Chartreuse

For a time occupied by the regular canons of Saint Augustine, Parménie became a Carthusian nunnery in the mid-13th century. Blessed Beatrix of Ornacieux lived there for a few years after entering at the age of 13, before founding the Charterhouse of Eymeux (Drôme).

Sister Louise Welcomes Jean-Baptiste de La Salle

Destroyed in 1391, the Carthusian monastery of Parménie fell into oblivion until the 17th century. A poor shepherdess, Louise Hours, undertook its restoration and established a retreat house there. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle stayed there. His Brothers and Sister Louise persuaded him to resume leadership of the society he had created.

From the Revolution to World War II

Various religious groups and communities, notably the Olivétains, succeeded each other in Parménie. In 1943, the abandoned convent served as a refuge for resistance fighters. It was burned down by the Germans, leaving Parménie in ruins.

Parménie Reborn

An American brother, Leo Burkhard, rebuilt Parménie starting in 1965, giving it its current appearance. The site became a community place and a Lasallian center, known worldwide.

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Now owned by the congregation, the site hosted the novitiate of the Brothers of the Christian Schools for a time. Today, it welcomes numerous groups of young people and adults from the La Salle network and other backgrounds, who experience a bit of what Saint John Baptist de La Salle himself lived there: encounter, discernment, and mission.