The Église Saint-Joseph is a Roman Catholic church in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Location

It is located in the

6th arrondissement of Marseille The 6th arrondissement of Marseille is one of the 16 arrondissements of Marseille This list of the sixteen arrondissements of Marseille ( French: ''Arrondissements de Marseille''), France includes their INSEE code, postal code, sector and ne ...

.Official website: Where are we?
/ref> The exact address is at 124-126 rue Paradis.Église Catholique à Marseille
/ref>

History

The church, alongside Église Saint-Charles in the

1st arrondissement of Marseille The 1st arrondissement of Marseille is one of the 16 arrondissements of Marseille This list of the sixteen arrondissements of Marseille ( French: ''Arrondissements de Marseille''), France includes their INSEE code, postal code, sector and ne ...

, was constructed as a result of the rapid expansion of Marseille and the creation of new neighbourhoods in the nineteenth century. On August 14, 1831, it was authorized by Fortuné de Mazenod (1749-1840), who served as the Bishop of Marseille from 1823 to 1837.André Bouyala d'Arnaud, ''Evocation du vieux Marseille'', Paris: Les éditions de minuit, 1961, p. 314 During the construction, church-goers worshipped in the nearby Église Saint-Nicolas-de-Myre. Land was purchased from landowner Maxime Martin to build this new church. The church building was designed by architect

Pascal Coste Xavier Pascal Coste (26 November 1787 – 8 February 1879) was a French architect. He was at one time a personal architect for Muhammad Ali Pasha. As a seasoned traveller, his travels to Qajar Iran, aroused the interest of King Louis Philippe I ...

(1787-1879) in 1833, in a similar manner as the nearby Église Saint-Lazare, also designed by Coste.Régis Bertrand, Lucien Tirone, ''Le guide de Marseille'', Besançon: La manufacture, 1991, p. 278 Drawing upon his designs, architect Joseph Ferrié oversaw the construction of the facade. In 1868, Henri-Jacques Espérandieu (1829-1874) designed the casing of the

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

and the ceiling 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 ...

. The high altar and the

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent Architecture, architectural feature, particularly over Alta ...

were designed by Louis Sainte-Marie-Perrin (1835-1917). The pipe organ was made 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 build ...

(1811-1899). The entire church was only finalized as late as 1925. However, it was dedicated on April 25, 1855. It has been listed as a

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 collection of buildings, ...

since February 9, 1999.

At present

It is open every day except Sunday, from Monday to Saturday from 10AM to 12PM, and from 4PM to 6PM. The current vicar is Fr Michel Roux.

Gallery

Secondary source

*T. Brieugne, ''Monographie de la Paroisse Saint Joseph de Marseille'' (Imprimerie Marseillaise, 1933).Google Books
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eglise Saint-Joseph 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France 6th arrondissement of Marseille Roman Catholic churches in Marseille Monuments historiques of Marseille