The Église Saint-Théodore is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Location

It is located in the

1st arrondissement of Marseille The 1st arrondissement of Marseille is one of the 16 arrondissements of Marseille This list of arrondissements of Marseille, France, include their INSEE code, postal code, sectors and neighbourhoods. List Prevolutionary parishes Before the ...

.Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, ''Marseille 2013'', Le Petit Futé, 2013, p. 38

/ref> The exact address is 3 rue des Dominicaines, with its rear at 1 rue de l'Etoile.Église Catholique à Marseille
/ref>Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette, ''Marseille'', Le Petit Futé, 2010, p. 25

/ref>

History

The church building was constructed in the Baroque style in the 17th century. It was dedicated by Étienne de Puget, who served as the bishop of Marseille from 1644 to his death in 1668, on October 21, 1648, in honour of Saint Louis, who served as the king of France from 1226 to 1270. Augustin Fabre, ''Les rues de Marseille'', Marseille: Edition Camoin, 1869, 5 volumes, tome V, p. 78''Revue de Marseille et de Provence'', 1866, p. 277
/ref> It served as the chapel of a convent of Recollects, a Reform branch of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

s.Monument historique: 'église Saint-Théodore, ancien couvent des Récollets'
/ref> The facade was destroyed during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

of 1789–1799. After the Concordat of 1801, it became a parish church in 1802 and was named in honour of Saint

Theodore of Marseille Theodore ( la, Theodorus) was the bishop of Marseille from at least 566 until 591/594. In the 580s, Theodore was at the centre of a dispute over the city of Marseille between King Guntram and his nephew, King Childebert II. He was arrested several ...

, who served as the Bishop of Marseille from 582 to 591. The statues on the new facade were designed in 1857: they represent the Virgin Mary, Saint Louis and Saint Theodore. Inside, the decor is entirely baroque. The vault was painted by

Antoine Sublet Antoine Sublet (1821–1897) was a French painter. Biography Early life Benoît-Antoine Sublet was born in 1821 in Lyon. He was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest, and was particularly close to the Carthusians, Carthusian Order. Career He p ...

(1821-1897) from 1860 to 1863.

Jean-Baptiste Gault Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...

(1595-1643), who served as the Bishop of Marseille from 1640 to 1643, was buried in the church, where his tomb can be found in a side altar. The Holy water fonts are sculpted with cherubs and the insignia of the Recollets. The casing of the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

depicts Christophe Andrault de Langeron (1680-1768), an aristocrat who was the supervisor of

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s during the

Great Plague of Marseille The Great Plague of Marseille was the last major outbreak of bubonic plague in Western Europe. Arriving in Marseille, France, in 1720, the disease killed a total of 100,000 people: 50,000 in the city during the next two years and another 50,000 t ...

, in charge of taking diseased bodies out of boats and hampering the spread of the disease. As the Recollets forbid pipe organs in their churches,

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758.Antipope ...

issued a papal bull to allow it. In 1890, François Mader made a new pipe organ for the church (though the casing was preserved), and it was restored by Ets Michel-Merklin & Kuhn in 1934. In 1997, thanks for the patronage of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, it was restored again by Thierry Lestrez. Behind the high altar is displayed a large painting entitled ''L'embarquement de saint Louis pour la croisade'' by

Jacques-Antoine Beaufort Jacques Antoine Beaufort (1721 in Paris – 1784 in Rueil), was an 18th-century academic French painter. Little is known of his early life but he had his first public exhibition at the Marseille Academy in 1756, where he taught drawing, and l ...

(1721–1784). Additional paintings displayed inside the church are ''Saint Jérôme au désert'' Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664), ''Le Jugement'' and ''Le martyre de sainte Barbe'' by

François Puget François Puget (17 December 1651, Toulon - 6 October 1707, Marseille) was a French painter in the Baroque style; known primarily for his portraits. Biography His father was the architect, sculptor and painter, Pierre Puget. After a scandal in ...

(1651-1707), ''L'Annonciation'' by

Louis Finson Louis Finson, Lodewijk Finson or Ludovicus Finsonius (between 1574 and 1580 – 1617) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, copyist and art dealer. He painted portraits, religious compositions, allegorical paintings and genre scenes. Moving to Italy ...

(1575–1617), and more paintings by

Michel Serre Michel Serre (1658–1733) was a Catalonia, Catalan-born France, French painter. Biography Early life Michel Serre was born on January 10, 1658 in Tarragona, Spain.''L'Artiste: journal de la littérature et des beaux-arts'', L'Artiste, 1849, pp. ...

(1658-1733). The church building is listed as a

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

. Recently, it has been the host of concerts to raise funds for its restoration.

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eglise Saint-Theodore Roman Catholic churches in Marseille Monuments historiques of Marseille 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France Franciscan churches in France Recollects Baroque church buildings in France