Chasse-sur-Rhône

UPDATE: We now have a teaser trailer for the documentary film the team has produced!

The City of Milwaukee and the Alliance Française de Milwaukee proudly announce the formation of a Friendship City  partnership with Chasse-sur-Rhône, France.

Cavalier Johnson, Mayor of Milwaukee, and Christophe Bouvier, Mayor of Chasse-sur-Rhône signed the agreement on October 28, 2025 at Milwaukee School of Languages.

Our cities share an interesting history: the oldest architectural structure in Milwaukee, and the oldest structure in the western hemisphere still being used for its original purpose, is the Joan of Arc Chapel at Marquette University. The chapel was originally built in Chasse in the 15th century. In the 1920s, the chapel was bought and transferred to New York by Gertrude Hill Gavin. In 1962, Gertrude sold the chapel to Marc & Lilian Rojtman who donated it to Marquette University in Milwaukee. The chapel is what brought our two cities together. This agreement will promote intercultural exchange and community engagement between our two cities that will allow us to expand our relationship to an official Sister Cities partnership. This will be Milwaukee’s first French sister city.

A delegation of 12 high school students—as well as chaperones, videographers, and city hall officials from Chasse-sur-Rhône—visited Milwaukee from October 27 to 29, 2025. This group of dedicated young people spent a year working to uncover the history of this "traveling chapel" and to bring awareness to this aspect of their local history. The project will culminate in two documentary films: one that will follow the chapel on its journey from Chasse to Milwaukee via Long Island, and one that follows the 12 students through their research and along their voyage from France, to New York, to Minnesota, to Wisconsin.

Links

Visit the "De Chasse à Milwaukee" Website

"De Chasse à Milwaukee" on Instagram

Our Partnership in the News:

"St. Joan of Arc Chapel receives French visitors from its origin city" - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Marquette fosters ties with French city where Joan of Arc chapel originated" - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"Milwaukee Forms Friendly Relations Partnership with Chasse-sur-Rhône, France" - Urban Milwaukee

"French delegation visits Marquette to retrace the St. Joan of Arc Chapel’s remarkable journey" - Marquette Today