St Sulpice Church’s eclectic architecture
St Sulpice Church is a remarkable example of eclectic architecture. It is dedicated to Saint Sulpice, known as “the Good,” “the Pious,” or “the Gentle,” who was born in 570 into a Gallo-Roman noble family and became Archbishop of Bourges in 624.
Located halfway between the Saint Germain des Prés Church and the Luxembourg Palace, it is 120 metres tall and the second-tallest church in Paris, after the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral.
In the 14th century, the abbots of the long-gone Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés built a humble village church known as Saint-Sulpice-des-Champs, for their labourers who lived in the surrounding hamlets.
This church was enlarged in the 14th century, then again in the 16th, and eventually demolished in 1634 to make way for a larger one to serve a growing population. The remains of its nave are still visible in the crypt of the current church.
The foundation stone of the new St Sulpice Church was laid in 1646 by the regent Anne of Austria, accompanied by the future King Louis XIV, then eight years old. However, construction dragged on until 1732 due to a lack of funds. The work was thus carried out by several renowned architects over this long period and resulted in an eclectic mix of architectural styles.
Louis Le Vau started building the chancel in 1636, and Gilles-Marie Oppenord, one of François Mansart’s students, completed it in 1745.
Giovanni Servandoni designed facade, considered a striking example of Rococo architecture (Baroque). It indeed features a characteristic double colonnade, adorned with Doric columns and loggias on the upper level, contrasting with the Ionic columns on the lower level.
Additional modifications were made by the architects MacLaurin and then Chalgrin, the latter famous for having designed the Arc de Triomphe. Under Chalgrin’s direction, the neoclassical left tower was also rebuilt and completed just before the outbreak of the French Revolution.
However, work was then suspended, leaving St Sulpice Church with two asymmetrical bell towers topped by ornate balustrades.
The church miraculously escaped demolition and was transformed into the Temple of Victory because of its size and imposing stature! A discreet inscription adorning the interior lintel of the entrance commemorates this transformation:
“Le Peuple Francais Reconnoit L’Etre Suprême Et L’Immortalité de L’Âme – The people of France recognizes the supreme being and the immortality of the soul”.
St Sulpice Church’s wealth of religious art objects
It is impossible to list them all, but many renowned artists redecorated the church in the 18th and 19th centuries, leaving us a multitude of architectural and ornamental masterpieces.
Among the most celebrated was the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, who created the statue of the Virgin and Child for the Chapelle de la Vierge.
He also sculpted the rock-shaped bases of the main baptismal font, which support basins made of authentic giant seashells called bénitiers, a gift King Francis I received from the Republic of Venice.
Félix Jobbé-Duval, Carle Van Loo, Jean-Baptiste Pierre, Louis Matout, Auguste Pichon.
Eugène Delacroix painted “Jacob Wrestling with the Angel” and “Heliodorus Driven from the Temple” for the Chapelle des Anges (Holy Angels).
Gnomon of St Sulpice Church and the Da Vinci Code
Now, let’s debunk a myth that has spread over the years, particularly through popular culture!
St Sulpice Church does indeed have a gnomon, the part of the sundial that casts a shadow, a feature found in few religious buildings. Installed in 1727 by the clock-maker and astronomer Henry Sully at the request of the parish priest, the gnomon of Saint-Sulpice allowed for the precise calculation of the winter and summer solstices as well as the equinoxes.
It consists of a brass line embedded in the marble floor, extending from the base of an 11-metre-high marble obelisk, adorned with a cross. A small opening, located in the window of the south transept, allows sunlight to cast its shadow on the brass line, thus facilitating astronomical measurements.
However, a misconception has arisen, associating this brass line with the Paris Meridian, and was perpetuated by the bestselling novel “The Da Vinci Code.” In the book, the Paris Meridian is called the “Rose Line,” supposedly passing through St Sulpice Church.
Sorry to disappoint you, but this is pure fiction!
In reality, the Paris Meridian marked the meridian zero with the Southern Marker, also known as the Observatory’s sighting marker (Mire du Sud), which passed through the Paris Observatory. This quadrangular geodetic marker, over 4 metres high and topped with a cylinder pierced by an eyelet, served as a sighting point for astronomers at the Observatory to calibrate their meridian instruments.
Relocated to Parc Montsouris, it is now about 70 metres east of the original meridian due to park redevelopment work. That said, the “fantasist story” of the gnomon of Saint Sulpice is one of the best possible PRs for this church, considered one of the most beautiful in Paris
St Sulpice Church’s organ, one of the finest in France
St Sulpice Church is also renowned for its magnificent great organ, considered one of the finest in France.
The master organ builder François-Henri Clicquot built it in 1776, and Chalgrin designed its case. Aristide Cavaillé-Coll undertook its reconstruction and improvement in 1862, thus raising its performance to new heights. He also improved and enlarged the choir organ, originally built in 1844.
The exceptional sound quality of these organs, combined with the church’s unique acoustics, attracted the most renowned organists in France who played for significant events: the wedding of Victor Hugo, the baptisms of the writers Marquis de Sade and Charles Baudelaire, and the burials of Madame de Montespan and two granddaughters of King Louis XIV.
Finally, St Sulpice Church square is adorned with the Fontaine Saint-Sulpice, a masterpiece of the French Renaissance designed by Louis Visconti. St Sulpice Church is thus one of the 25 Paris churches I have selected for you!
Directions: 6th District
Metro: Saint-Sulpice on Line 4
Coordinates: Lat 48.850942 – Long 2.334443
