The vast 21,325 square feet (6,500 m²) building of Les Franciscaines convent was built in Deauville in the last quarter of the 19th century from 1876. Its construction in Neo-Gothic and Neo-Romanesque styles went through several stages. In 1877, the first stone containing a relic of Saint Francis of Assisi of the orphanage called Saint-Joseph pavilion was laid on the philanthropic initiative of two sisters, Adèle and Joséphine Mérigault. They had already had a small chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame de Pitié (Our Lady of Mercy) erected the previous year. New convent buildings (cloister, refectory, and dormitory) were built in 1883 according to the plans of the architect Delarue. The chapel was consecrated on August 7, 1890 while, in 1897, the Saint-Joseph pavilion was enlarged with a right-angled wing financed by the Biesta-Monrival family.