Ever since I moved to the Marais, next door to me the Saint Paul church has been the old, dilapidated church that no one paid much attention to even though it was quite historic. Its façade was black from soot of the traffic from the heavily travelled rue Saint Antoine. A little over a year ago they scaffolded the front of it for renovations.
Last month the scaffolding came down and it unveiled a gleaming white stone beacon with rich detailing that was almost hidden before which could be seen from blocks away. The neglected old, dilapidated church was now the centerpiece of the area, as it should be.
The full name of the church is Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis and it was built between 1627 and 1641 by Jesuit architects Etienne Martellange and Francois Derand, on orders of King Louis XIII. The facade has elements of French Gothic, Italian, and Dutch architecture and the design was inspired by nearby Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais de Paris church. The first mass was on May 9, 1641 with Cardinal Richelieu in attendance. The church was changed to the Cult of Reason and the Supreme Being during the French Revolution and in 1802 became a Catholic church. Leopoldine Hugo was married in the church in 1843 and her father Victor Hugo lived nearby on Place des Vosges. A mostly unknown gem inside on the left is the Delacroix painting Christ in agony on the Mount of Olives.
St. Paul Church
Rue Saint Antoine, 75004
Metro: St. Paul
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What an improvement over the look when I stayed in an apartment just down rue Saint-Antoine a few years ago.
Posted by: starman1695 | November 12, 2012 at 10:03 PM
Wow! What a difference! Thanks for covering this. The improvement is dramatic! I walked by that church many times before and wondered if there was any life inside...
Posted by: Jeff Mings | November 13, 2012 at 03:45 AM
I am really looking forward to seeing this beautiful renovation! I always get excited when I see that kind of scaffolding and was hoping you'd be the one to unveil the finished product!
Posted by: Cheryl | November 17, 2012 at 08:51 PM