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Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis

The church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis stands at 99 rue Saint-Antoine, in the Marais. It was built between 1627 and 1641 as a Jesuit church, to plans by the Jesuit architects Étienne Martellange and François Derand and with the backing of Louis XIII; the first Mass was held on 9 May 1641. It is considered the first church in Paris to break with the Gothic and adopt the Baroque, on the model of the Gesù in Rome. Its 55-metre dome influenced later buildings such as Les Invalides. After the Revolution it became a parish church and took on its double name from the medieval church it replaced. It holds "Christ in the Garden of Olives", which Delacroix painted in 1827, in the left transept, and a "Virgin of Sorrows" by Germain Pilon from 1586. Victor Hugo donated the shell-shaped holy water stoups. Entry is free and the church is not accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Things to do at Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis: 4 missions

• Look for Delacroix's Christ in the Garden of OlivesGo to the left transept and look at Eugène Delacroix's canvas of 1827, a large-format painting (2.94 x 3.62 m) and one of his rare religious works.
• Find Victor Hugo's holy water stoupsLook for the shell-shaped holy water stoups donated by Victor Hugo; his daughter Léopoldine was married in this church in 1843.
• Locate Germain Pilon's Virgin of SorrowsLook for the sculpture "Virgin of Sorrows" by Germain Pilon, dated 1586, older than the church itself.
• Look at the Jesuit-style facade and domeFrom rue Saint-Antoine, look at the two-level facade with Corinthian and Composite orders and the 55-metre dome inspired by the Gesù in Rome.

Near Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis

Source: Ville de Paris - Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis