Saint-Antoine des Quinze-Vingts () 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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

located at 66 Avenue Ledru Rollin in the

12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...

. (Mailing address: 57 rue Traversière, 75012 Paris.)

History

Before the French Revolution, the territory corresponding to the 12th arrondissement belonged to the 4th-arrondissement parish

Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis The Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis is a church on rue Saint-Antoine in the Marais quarter of Paris. The present building was constructed from 1627 to 1641 by the Jesuit architects Étienne Martellange and François Derand, on the orders of Louis ...

, then to the domain of Sainte-Marguerite. However, two institutions had the privilege of exercising the "cure d'âme" care of souls" the abbey of the Cistercian nuns of Saint-Antoine des Champs and the Résidence Quinze-Vingts, originally founded -- although in a different location -- by King Louis IX (Saint Louis) in the 13th century. The abbey was abolished during the Revolution (in 1790) and the monastery became the foundation of Saint-Antoine Hospital in 1795. The new parish of Saint-Antoine des Quinze-Vingts was created on 4 February 1791, and originally used the abbey church as its place of worship. It was sold as

Bien national The biens nationaux were properties confiscated during the French Revolution from the Catholic Church, the monarchy, émigrés, and suspected counter-revolutionaries for "the good of the nation". ''Biens'' means "goods", both in the sense of "obj ...

in 1798 and destroyed. For a century thereafter, the chapel Saint-Rémi of the Résidence XV-XX served as a parish church, until the construction of the present church which was completed in 1903 and dedicated to

Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

on 11 November 1909.

Detailed project and construction history

* March 1898: The Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Richard, appointed abbot Rivière as curé, with the mission of leaving the premises of the ophthalmological hospital created in 1880. * September 1898: The Council of Paris opposed the transfer of part of the land of the former

Mazas prison The Mazas Prison (French: ''Prison de Mazas'') was a prison in Paris, France. Designed by architects Émile Gilbert and Jean-François-Joseph Lecointe, it was inaugurated in 1850 and located near the Gare de Lyon, on the Diderot boulevard. The bu ...

(destroyed in 1895), their motivation being that, in their minds, they would thereby be replacing "the prison of bodies by the prison of thought". * 1898: The purchase of an old factory in the centre of the parish territory was made possible. * 1898–1901: Mgr. Rivière found the 400 thousand francs necessary for the purchase of the former factory. The "Société Civile Immobilière" d'Aligre was formed, and the land purchased. * 15 December 1900: Submission of the construction dossier. * 12 January 1901: Favorable opinion of the archbishop. * 21 February 1902: By prefectoral decree, the church would remain the property of the city of Paris (one of the last churches built before the 1905 law) * 17 June 1902: Laying of the first stone of "the first church of the century", built on the plans of Émile Vaudremer (1829-1914), architect of

Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge Saint-Pierre de Montrouge () is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Petit-Montrouge quarter of the 14th arrondissement of Paris. It was built from 1863, during Hausmann's redesign of the city, by Joseph Auguste Émile Vaudremer, the architect c ...

(1862), and his student Lucien Roy. * 28 December 1903: Blessing of the church. * January 1910:

1910 Great Flood of Paris The 1910 Great Flood of Paris (french: Crue de la Seine de 1910) was a catastrophe in which the Seine River, carrying winter rains from its tributaries, flooded the Paris conurbation, France. The Seine water level rose eight metres above the ord ...

File:Projet de facade Saint Antoine des XV-XX (1900).jpg, File:Crue 1910 rue traversiere.jpg,

* 11 November 1911: Inauguration of the church.

Description

Architecture

The church is built of brick and stone on a basilical plan in a

Romanesque Revival architecture Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

. Some parts and decorations are typical of the

Art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

of the

École de Nancy École de Nancy, or the Nancy School, was a group of Art Nouveau artisans and designers working in Nancy, France between 1890 and 1914. Major figures included the furniture designer Louis Majorelle, ebonist and glass artist Jacques Grüber, the ...

. The facade is brick and stone. It opens with a scalloped semi-circular gate with three

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...

s. The dome of the choir is made of moulded glass bonded with cement. The church is globally oriented East-West. It has a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

built on the first bays of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, covered with a short slate covered

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

. It dominates the avenue Ledru-Rollin. The church has a secondary access at 57 rue Traversière. File:P1330919 Paris XII avenue Ledru-Rollin clocher eglise St-Antoine rwk.jpg, File:P1280353 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 nef rwk.jpg, File:P1280366 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 voute nef rwk.jpg, File:P1280354 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 choeur rwk.jpg, File:Transept droit Église Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts.JPG, File:Paris 12e Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts 60615.JPG,

Furniture and works of art

Statuary

The choir is framed by two 1:1 scale statues: * At left, Saint

(left) at the foot of which is a pig, a work by

François-Raoul Larche François-Raoul Larche (1860 in Saint-André-de-Cubzac – 1912 in Paris) was a French Art Nouveau sculptor whose work included several figures of Christ, but who may be better known for his numerous female figures, both nude and draped. He wa ...

* To the right, Saint Louis crowned, holding a sword in his right hand, and in his left, the document instituting the original Résidence XV-XX in the 14th century, also by François-Raoul Larche. In the back (south side) of the choir : a statue of the Virgin holding the Christ child. At the entrance to the church (avenue Ledru Rollin), on the right is a statue of Saint Peter, and a large pietà ( Lady of Sorrows) is located nearby, in the south aisle. File:P1280355 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 statue St-Antoine rwk.jpg, File:Statue de Saint Louis.jpg, File:P1280362 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 vierge de douleur rwk.jpg, File:P1280363 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 statue St-Pierre rwk.jpg, File:P1280360 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 vitrail rwk.jpg, File:P1280364 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 cuve baptismale rwk.jpg,

Stained glasses

The central stained glass window of the choir as well as the high stained glass windows of the stands come from the

Champigneulle Champigneulle () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is the birthplace of the painter Alexandre-François Desportes. Population See also *Communes of the Ardennes department The following is a list of the 449 ...

workshops and probably dates from 1903. The stained glass window of the rose window represents the Trinity, the Evangelists and the angels of Revelation. Around the church, the stained glass windows represent the patron saints of the donors and the church: Anthony the Great, Saint Louis, Mary, Joseph, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Geneviève, patron saint of Paris,

Denis Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402–14 ...

, Blessed

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

(she was canonized only in 1920), Saint Joan of Chantal,

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

, Saint Elizabeth, Saint Cecilia, Saint Francis, Saint Marcel, Saint Charles, Saint Eugene, Saint Juliet, Saint Adrian. A series of three non-figurative stained glass windows were made by the Duchemin house and installed on the wall under the

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

. Installed in 2005, they are called "centenary stained glass windows"..

Recent developments

In 2009, new

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

by Sister Dolores of the

Dourgne Dourgne (; oc, Dornha) is a commune in the Tarn department and Occitanie region of southern France. Demographics Sites and monuments Dourgne is known for its two Benedictine monasteries, the En Calcat Abbey and the Sainte Scholastique Abb ...

abbey were installed in the side aisles, as well as on the glass divider between the main altar and that of the "Chapelle de semaine" (weekday chapel). In 2015, the walls of the weekday chapel were renovated and fitted out by the architect Christophe Hébert. The following year, he designed and realized the new reception area located just inside the main entrance to the church. File:Eglise Saint-Antoine des Quinze-Vingts @ Paris (34591864666) (2).jpg, File:Mur chapelle de semaine.jpg, File:Nouvel accueil.jpg,

Organs

The church's primary organ was constructed by

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ buildi ...

in 1894 for a private client. When the organ was donated to the new church in 1907, it was renovated by

Joseph Merklin Joseph Merklin (17 February 1819 – 10 July 1905) was a Baden-born organ builder who later became a French citizen. By the time of his retirement in 1898, he was a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur and had built, restored, or repaired over 400 ...

, who built the choir organ in 1909. Orgues Église Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts.JPG, The main organ by the celebrated Cavaillé-Coll. File:P1280357 Paris XII eglise St-Antoine 15-20 orgue rwk.jpg,

Access

The church is accessible by metro via the stations ''Ledru-Rollin'' on line , and ''Bastille'' and ''Gare de Lyon'' on line , as well as by the

bus lines A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...

20, 24, 29, 57, 61, and 86.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Site de la Paroisse Saint Antoine des XV-XX
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Antoine-des-Quinze-Vingts Roman Catholic churches in the 12th arrondissement of Paris Roman Catholic churches completed in 1903 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France