The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

Stains A stain is an unwanted localized discoloration, often in fabrics or textiles. Stain(s) or The Stain(s) may also refer to: Color * Stain (heraldry), a non-standard tincture * Staining, in biology, a technique used to highlight contrast in samples ...

in the department of

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

, France. It is dedicated to the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of whether Mary died or whether she was ra ...

and listed as a

Historic Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

Description

The parish was established by Bishop of Paris Pierre de Nemours in 1213. The current church was built in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a former church. It was consecrated by Bishop of Paris Eustache du Bellay on June 10, 1560. At that time, it was dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption and to Saint Gemma. The church was built with limestone from the region of

Creil Creil () is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department, northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction. History Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late ...

. This suggests the construction was made quickly in order to alleviate the lack of places of worship following the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a c ...

. The vaults of the church were re-built after the bombings of the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. The bell tower was knocked down in 1950. The church was listed as a

in 1984. The church was closed in 1995 for archaeological excavations to start. The renovation works started in May 2012 lasted two years.

Interior

The main altar and the altarpiece of the church were listed as

objects. The stone altarpiece and the sculpted tabernacle date back to the second half of the 17th century. In 1929, two glass walls made by the Ateliers Lorin of

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

led by

Charles Lorin Charles Jean Baptiste Claude Lorin was a French glass painter and manufacturer. He was born on October 16, 1866, in Chartres, the capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in France, and died in the same city on April 23, 1940. About Charles Lori ...

were added to the church. The first one shows the

Adoration of the Magi The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings or Visitation of the Wise Men is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having fo ...

and of the Shepherds, while the second one represents the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.

In arts

The church of Our Lady of the Assumption was shown in

Maurice Utrillo Maurice Utrillo (; born Maurice Valadon; 26 December 1883 – 5 November 1955) was a French painter of the School of Paris who specialized in cityscapes. From the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painters of ...

's painting ''Eglise de Stains'' around 1930. The painting is preserved at Galerie Pétridès.

Gallery

Labre 9 - STAINS - La rue Jean-Durand et l'Eglise.jpg, Rue Jean-Durand and the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption STAINS - L'église.jpg, The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption on a postcard franked in 1903 Catalogue Charles Morin Stains, Seine-Saint-Denis France.jpg, A stained glass in

's catalogue

References

{{reflist Churches in Seine-Saint-Denis 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France 16th-century establishments in France Monuments historiques of Seine-Saint-Denis