Churches in Paris: Église de la Sainte-Trinité

Recently, we visited L'église de la Sainte-Trinité.  Completed in 1867, the church was designed in the style of the Second Empire, a fusion of Gothic, Baroque and Neo-Classical elements.  

Some interesting facts:

• The church was the site of the funerals of Hector Berlioz (1869) and Georges Bizet (1875)

• The church  was built on the former site of a cabaret, La Grande Pinte (the Big Pint)

• The church operates a soup kitchen (more about that later)

Let's take a tour of the church.

Currently, the facade of the church is undergoing restoration.

Here is the facade looks like.   

L'église de la Sainte-Trinité:  Facade

The church is large, built to replace earlier churches that were too small to accommodate the growing population in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, a largely well-to-do church-going population at the time.

L'église de la Sainte-Trinité:  The nave

L'église de la Sainte-Trinité:  A side chapel with classical features, such as the circular arch.

The church has many side chapels, with beautiful sculpture and stained glass windows. 

One of the side chapels is dedicated to St. Denis, who was martyred in 250 A.D.  You might remember that after St. Denis lost his head, he picked it up and walked more than five miles to his final resting place.  The event is depicted in the paintings in the chapel.

The church is home to a statue of Joan of Arc.

Next Up:  Soup for you!