Saint-François Xavier Church, Paris, France

A 'seminary for foreign missions' had been set up on rue du Bac in 1637 by Monseigneur Duval, with an accord from pope Urban VIII, during the Counter Reformation. The seminary's oratory or chapel was built between 1683 and 1689, with interior decoration by Jacques Stella, Nicolas Poussin and Simon Vouet, and it was this chapel that operated secretly as a parish church for the area during the Revolutionary era when the area's actual parish church of Saint-Sulpice was shut down. In 1801 the chapel was attached to the church of Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin, which became the church for the Faubourg Saint-Germain, and the 'Missions étrangères' parish was officially recognised and split from the parish of Saint-Sulpice in 1802, at which time its curé was abbé Dessaubaz.

40 years later, in 1842, the parish was dedicated to St Francis Xavier. However, the chapel soon became too cramped for the seminarians and parishioners to share and the parishioners began construction on a new church in 1861 under abbé Jean-Louis Roquette (curé of the church from 1848 to 1889), headed by Adrien Lusson then Joseph Uchard and paid for by the Ville de Paris. The chosen site was in the corner of boulevard des Invalides and a planned boulevard right across the district towards rue des Saints-Pères that would meet the Seine level with pont du Carrousel. According to the principals of Haussmann's renovation of Paris, the new church would then form the end to this planned boulevard, explaining why its siting seems odd today, shifted over the boulevard and the hôtel des Invalides. Lusson began the works, but they were interrupted in 1863 and resumed under Uchard after Lusson's death. Work on the exterior was completed on 15 July 1874 and inaugurated at Easter 1875, at which point the interior decor was still incomplete. It was finally consecrated on 23 May 1894, the eve of Corpus Christi, in a ceremony presided over by François-Marie-Benjamin Richard, archbishop of Paris.

References:

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Religious sites in France

User Reviews

Book Y (2 years ago)
Emerveillée par l'intérieur de ce lieu Je suis passée plusieurs fois devant cette imposante église sans jamais prendre le temps de m'y arrêter. A vrai dire, je dois avouer que je trouvais l'extérieur sans trop de charme. C'est à l'occasion d'une journée froide et pluvieuse que j'ai donc poussé la porte de cet édifice , et je remercie la météo ! Dès qu'on entre, on ne sait ou poser les yeux tant il y a de choses à voir ! L'église en elle-même, les plafonds, le choeur sont vraiment très richement décorés. Le regard est happé par la coupole et ses incroyables peintures. Impossible de détacher les yeux également des 4 fresques aux teintes pastel et que l'on doit à Charles Crauk Si vous venez au moment de Noël, (et jusqu'en Février ) vous aurez l'immense chance d'admirer une crèche complètement incroyable , peuplée de 100 aines de santons. Un paroissien présent m'a fait la confidence qu'il s'agissait d'une des plus belles de France Sur le chemin de sortie, vous ne pourrez pas manquer le monumental orgue ainsi que la chasse dorée contenant le corps d'une soeur béatifiée

Alex B. Kalenski (2 years ago)
Un monument digne de Paris et de son histoire

Dorothée De Paoli (2 years ago)
Nous avons été très bien reçu par le Père de la Fournière

Prospendá Mundá (3 years ago)
C'est beau à voir !!! Si la notre à Goma serait comme celle-ci !!! Regardez-là

Silvia Matesová (3 years ago)
Návštěva 6.5.2018. Nádherná mše v podvečernich hodinách. Hlavně jedna překrásná píseň na závěr mše mi utkvěla v paměti. Bohužel nevím název ani noty. Prostě nádhera. Jestli by někdo měl.....budu maximálně spokojená.

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