Saint-Charles Church 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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

dedicated to

Saint Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat a ...

, the 16th-century Italian cardinal and archbishop. The church is situated on the Avenue Sainte-Charles in the

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

district of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. The church hosts the only

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

Catholic service on the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

, and offers

Catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

classes in English for children and adults.

History

In 1879, the Monegasque prince

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

commissioned the construction of a new church to accommodate the growing population of Monte-Carlo. One of the builders was Italian-born

Jean-Baptiste Pastor Jean-Baptiste Pastor born as Giovanni Battista Pastor (1873 - June 20, 1966) was an Italian-born Monegasque businessman and real estate developer. He was primarily known for founding ''J.B. Pastor & Fils'' in 1920, which became a leading construct ...

.Philippe Bidalon, Roger-Louis Bianchini, Aline Cochard, Laetizia Dannery, Lea Delpont, Jennifer Schwarz, Pauline Sommelet
Vie économique
''L'Express'', December 11, 2003 The church's dedication to

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat a ...

highlighted the Borromeo family's historic ties to the

Grimaldi family The House of Grimaldi ( , also , , ) is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297 ...

, the ruling family of Monaco. Bishop Charles Theuret of Monaco laid Saint-Charles's

corner stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

on November 11, 1879; it was completed and opened on Easter Monday, March 26, 1883, and subsequently declared a parish church on March 15, 1887. Saint-Charles Church, Monaco

Theuret's successor, Bishop Jean-Charles Arnal of Curel dedicated the church in 1912. The church was restored and its facades renovated in its centenary year of 1983 by

Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

, he subsequently oversaw exterior renovation work at the church in 2003. The family memorial service for the entertainer

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

took place at Saint-Charles Church in 1975.

References

External links

* 1883 establishments in Monaco Monte Carlo Roman Catholic churches completed in 1883 Roman Catholic churches in Monaco 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings {{monaco-church-stub