The church of St Paul is a magnificent 17th baroque church on the edge of the Marais district. Its facade is a prominent feature on the Rue St Antoine.
The present building was constructed from 1627 to 1641 by the Jesuit architects Étienne Martellange and François Derand, on the orders of Louis XIII of France. It was adjacent to an earlier church on the site, dedicated to St Paul and founded around 1125. The name of St Paul was added to St Louis after the demolition of the earlier church in 1796.
The church has a conventional floor plan of an aisled nave with transepts, but the crossing is adorned by a magnificent dome, in the Italian baroque style. The richly decorated interior feels spacious thanks to a high vault and large windows. The facade is a typical classical composition of a form widely copied across Europe, with a taller, projecting central bay, flanked by lower bays, all defined with pairs of columns.
The church has connections to some notable French figures: it was dedicated by Cardinal Richelieu in 1641; the two clam water stoups at the entrance were donated by Victor Hugo following the marriage of his daughter Leopoldine in 1843; and it houses the painting "Christ in agony on the Mount of Olives" by Delacroix (painted 1824-27), regarded by Van Gogh as one of only two painters (the other being Rembrandt) who could paint Christ.
The Church has regular services and also hosts concerts. read more