Havre Cathedral

The first church of St. Joseph, dating from 1873, was destroyed during the bombings of September 5, 1944. The new parish church, dedicated to the memory of the victims of these bombings, was built by Auguste Perret, chief architect in charge of rebuilding Le Havre, and Raymond Audigier, architect from Le Havre. Begun in 1951, the shell of the church was completed in 1957, three years after Perret's death. The church was consecrated in 1964. Made of reinforced concrete and designed on a plan based on square modules, the building is topped by a 107-metre high tower, the city's spiritual beacon. The glass roofs of this tower, with its symbolic colours, by the master glassmaker Marguerite Huré, are installed by Freret and Garel du Havre. The sculptures are the work of Guy Verdoya.

A convent was established in 1661, and a convent was added in 1666. The church became a parish church in 1822. The bombings of 1944 affected the church, which only retains its bell tower. A desire to rebuild the church emerged in 1954, but it was not opened until 1964, and work only really began in 1960.

The church underwent two phases of destruction, the first in 1563, when Le Havre was taken over by the English. The second in 1856 when it was considered too small to accommodate the faithful. A new church was rebuilt the same year a few meters further on.