French church for sale for €362,500 - could be turned into a home

A church has been listed for sale for €362,500 on a French classified website with claims it could be turned into an unlikely home once deconsecrated.

Saint-Edouard’s church in Lens (Pas-de-Calais) is on the Leboncoin, listed under the incongruous title Maison 4 pièces 539m² - house 4 rooms.

The catholic church, which was built in 1899 to serve miners and their families, and later damaged by German shell fire in World War One, no longer sees enough use, according to the Lens diocese.

The diocese (to which the church belongs) took the decision to sell it due to cut costs.

“It has been over a year since there has been a mass there,” Abbé Jean-Marie Rauwel told local media. “It was occasionally open for funerals but we do not heat it in the winter”.

“It's true that you wouldn't expect to find a church on Leboncoin, and even less that it would be offered as a house.

Read more: How safe are purchases on French classified websites?

“Many residents no longer set foot in the church. Yet we still have to maintain the building. It has become a burden that we can no longer cover,” the Abbé told France 3.

The Lens mairie is “vigilant” over the sale, according to local official Jean-Pierre Hanon, and would prefer to see the building transformed into a cultural centre to serve the local community.

Saint-Edouard’s is currently in the process of deconsecration. No buyers are reported to have come forward.

Church sales, while uncommon on Leboncoin, are by no means unheard of in France. Click here to view the ad for Saint-Edouard’s.