Please note that the Church of Mouillage is currently under renovation and the site is temporarily closed to visitors.
The Mouillage district owes its name to the fact that most boats were once moored in front of it. It was the working‑class neighborhood of Saint‑Pierre, where many of the port’s employees lived. Before its destruction in 1902, the Church of Mouillage served as the cathedral of Martinique.
It was known as Notre‑Dame du Bon Port, in honor of the Virgin of the Sailors. The church was built in 1855 by engineers Scheffler and Robinet.
Before the construction of Notre‑Dame‑du‑Bon‑Port, a small neoclassical church built in 1654 by the Dominicans stood on the same site. Around 1851, plans were made to enlarge the building, which had become the cathedral.
The architectural plans were drawn in 1855 by Scheffler, Chief Engineer of the colony of Martinique, and Robinet, Captain of Engineering and Head of Public Works for the Saint‑Pierre district.
Scheffler chose to preserve the neoclassical style already used for the earlier church. Construction lasted several years due to various setbacks.
In 1902, following the eruption of Mount Pelée, the cathedral lost its status to Saint-Louis Cathedral in Fort‑de‑France, which had become the new capital.
In 1920, the church was rebuilt thanks to donations from Victor Depaz and Monsignor Lequien, who had also initiated the construction of the Balata Church.
Today, it is known as Notre‑Dame de l’Assomption Cathedral and remains an important place of worship for the deeply devout Catholic community of Saint‑Pierre. Behind the church lies the Mouillage cemetery and its ossuary, where the remains of the victims of the eruption were gathered.
