Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Church, Paris

The church was originally built as a chapel for the Dames of Saint Elizabeth, part of Third Order of Saint Francis, of which Saint Elizabeth of Hungary had been an early member, but only the nave and the left aisle were finished by 1645. The church was consecrated in 1646 by the future cardinal of Retz, and dedicated to Notre-Dame of Pity and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.^[1]

During the French Revolution, the church was closed and turned into a storage barn for fodder. It was returned to the church in 1797. The earlier parish church for the Temple neighbourhood, Saint-Marie-du-Temple, had been destroyed during the Revolution, and following the Restoration Saint Elizabeth was designated to take its place. The building was enlarged and modified by architect Étienne-Hippolyte Godde (1781-1869), Architect of the City of Paris from 1813 to 1830. Godde designed some thirty religious buildings in Paris. He designed a new choir, and added a disambulatory and two large chapels on the left lower side. His modifications doubled the size of the church. He also added an axial chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, but the chapel had to be demolished in 1858 to make room for the new rue Turbigo constructed by Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann.^[1]

In 1938, the church became the convent church of the Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights of Malta because of their long establishment on that island dating back to 1530.^[1]

The facade of the church was inspired by the Church of the Gesù, the influential church of the Jesuits in Rome. Several other Paris churches of the period used the same design. It features pilasters, sculpture in niches, and other classical elements. The apse was a later addition; the original apse had to be shortened to allow the passage of a new street, Rue Turbigo, built by Napoleon III.

The sculpture in the tympanum over the portal, depicting Christ taken down from the cross, was made by the Italian sculptor Joseph-Michel-Ange Pollet (1814-1870). Statues in niches depict King Louis IX (Saint Louis) (left) and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.

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  Portal with pilasters and sculpture. The left statue is Louis IX (Saint Louis) and the right statue depicts Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
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  Tympanum with a sculpture of Christ taken down from the Cross made by Joseph-Michel-Ange Pollet (1814-1870).
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  The 19th-century apse seen from Rue de Turbigo

The choir of the church was rebuilt in the early 19th century, following the restoration of monarchy, by the architect Étienne-Hippolyte Godde. The decoration includes large frescoes on the walls and a half-dome with colorful frescoes in the interior. and other frescoes in the disambulatory around the choir.

The fresco in the half-dome depicts "The Glorification of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary welcomed by the angles into heaven", made by Jean Alaux (1786-1864). In the fresco, Saint Elizabeth wears the habit of a Franciscan. She is welcomed by figures of the three theological virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity} and by the archangels Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel.^[1]

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  Altar and Choir of the church
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  Nave
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  The pulpit in the nave

The Disambulatory behind the choir is decorated with one hundred elaborate carved wooden sculptures, which were made in the 17th century to decorate the choir stalls of the Abbey of Saint-Vaast in Arras, which was destroyed during the Revolution. They depict scenes from the Old Testament and the New Testament, and reflect the theological reforms established by the Council of Trent as of 1623. doctrines They were discovered by the architect Victor Baltard and moved to the church in 1845. They include Christ on the Cross, with the Virgin Mary and Saint John, A Tripique made in the 17th century in the style of Louis XIII. The disambulatory also displays a series of four frescoes made in the mid-19th century; "The Beatitudes" by Guermann Von Bohn; "The Seven Sacraments" by Paul Jourdy; "The Last Judgement" by Adolph Roger; and "Seven Works of the Les Béatitudes (de Guermann Von Bohn).

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  Disambulatory with wood carvings from stalls of St. Vaste Abbey (17th c.)
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  Detail of 16th c. carving from Abbey of Saint Vaast; "Moses parts the waters"
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  Left side aisle
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  Right Side aisle
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  Sketch for "The Last Judgement", by Adolphe Roger, a fresco in the disabulatory.

The centrepiece of the Chapel of the Virgin is a large painting, "Elisabeth placing her crown at the foot of the image of Our Lord", by Merry-Joseph Blondel (1781-1853). The lower level of the altar in the Virgin chapel is decorated with several notable small portraits of saints by Abel de Pujol.

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  Chapel of the Virgin

The Altar of the Sacred Heart is located in the left disambulaory, and is decorated with an elaborate altar and a statue of the Virgin Mary. The lower front of the altar is decorated with a bronze relief sculpture said to depict the death of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.

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  Altar of the Sacred Heart