History

1888: Establishment of the Faculty of Medicine at Saint Joseph University, following an agreement signed between the French government and the Jesuit Fathers. However, the Faculty needed a teaching hospital.

1911: Under the direction of Reverend Father Lucien Catin, S.J., and with the initiative of Le Temps newspaper, the Parisian Press Syndicate launches a subscription in France to build the hospital on land purchased by the French government.

1914-1918: The First World War breaks out, and construction projects are immediately halted.

1922: General Gouraud lays the first stone, and construction work begins.

1923: General Weygand, his successor, inaugurates Hôtel-Dieu de France, and the hospital opens its doors, admitting its first patient.

1965: An agreement between the hospital and the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Hearts is signed, delegating them with the nursing administration mission.

1984: The French government transfers the direct management of HDF to Saint Joseph University through a renewable 50-year lease. Reverend Father Jean Ducruet, S.J., endows the hospital with its statutes.

1975-1990: During the Lebanese Civil War, the hospital continued to provide care to thousands of wounded, never failing in its mission.

2001: Inauguration of the new hospital building and numerous departments.

2005: Inauguration of the Private Clinics Tower.

2010: Under the leadership of Rev. Fr. René Chamussy, S.J., Rector of Saint Joseph University, the hospital decided to adopt a new governance system to address the challenges of a rapidly evolving healthcare environment. The HDF 2020 project, a ten-year strategic plan, was thus launched.

2020: Outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hôtel-Dieu de France became the first private hospital to support the public sector by opening its doors to patients infected with the coronavirus.

August 4, 2020: Beirut Port explosion. Hôtel-Dieu de France received more than 750 injured patients. Material damages were estimated at two million US dollars.

2022: Launch of the centennial year of Hôtel-Dieu de France and the establishment of the USJ-HDF Hospital Network, following the signing of an agreement bringing Saint Charles Hospital and Mgr Cortbawi Hospital into the HDF network.

December 15, 2022: Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Hôtel-Dieu de France and Tel Chiha Hospital.

July 20, 2023: Notre Dame de la Paix Hospital – Qobayat joined the USJ-HDF Hospital Network.

June 7, 2024: Partnership established between Hôtel-Dieu de France (HDF) and the Middle East Hospital (MEH) in Baghdad.

2025: Launch of Hôtel-Dieu de France’s Strategic Plan 2030.