The Église de la Sainte-Trinité is a Roman Catholic church located on the place d'Estienne d'Orves, at 3 rue de la Trinité, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It was built between 1861 and 1867 during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III, in the residential neighborhood of the Chaussée d'Antin. It is in the ornate Neo-Renaissance or Second Empire Style, with a highly visible 65-meter-tall belfry.
The church is accessible by the Métro (the nearby station, Trinité, is named after it).The rue de La Trinité also takes its name from the church.
History
The first church in the parish, which was then outside the city limits of Paris, was constructed en 1850 at 21 rue de Calais, but was too small for growing population and too far from the center of the parish. A second church was built in 1852 on the rue de Clichy, where the present-day Casino de Paris is located, but it also was too small. The Abbé Modelonde, the curé of the parish, appealed to Napoleon III to construct a larger new church.
The church was part of the massive campaign for rebuilding and beautifying Paris carried out by Napoleon III and his prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann during the Second French Empire. This included the creation of new boulevards, parks and squares, and new landmarks such as the Paris Opera. La Trinité, as it became known, was designed by to serve a growing residential community in the Chaussée d'Antin, which Napoleon III had brought into Paris by expanding the city limits. The church and other new buildings Napoleon IIi commissioned were designed to be tall and visible, and were placed at the meeting points of the new avenues that criss-crossed the city.
The architect was Théodore Ballu, chief architect of Paris for religious buildings, whose other Paris works included the restoration of the Saint-Jacques Tower, (1854–58); the belfry of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois (1858–63); and the Église Saint-Ambroise, (1863–69). Construction began in 1861 and was largely completed by 1867,but it was not entirely finished and consecrated until 1913.
In the winter of 1870-71, when Paris was surrounded and besieged by the Prussians in the Franco-Prussian War, the church was put to use as a hospital, since it was one of the few large Paris buildings with a working furnace. A large stove was also placed in the nave, which darkened the ceiling with its smoke. The chapels were turned into a pharmacy, linen closet, laundry and storerooms, and a large stove was placed in the nave to provide additional heat.
During the Paris Commune, on 12 May 1871, the building was confiscated from the Catholic church and used as a meeting hall for a club of Communard women called the Club of Deliverance. During the Semaine Sanglante, the final battle of the Commune, the furniture was piled up and the church was armed as a Commune fortress, but the Commundards were forced to withdraw when the church was bypassed by the advancing French army.
The church had a particular connection with French music: it was the location of Gioachino Rossini's funeral, on 13 November 1868; Hector Berlioz's funeral, on 11 March 1869; and Georges Bizet's funeral in 1875. Later, in 1931, composer Olivier Messiaen was appointed organist at the church, a post which he would hold until his death 61 years later.
The church's facade served as the inspiration for the design of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in Quebec City and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, California.
Exterior
The exterior of the church has elements of French Renaissance architecture combined with Italian Renaissance architecture, which were often joined in imaginative ways during the reign of Napoleon III. The most impressive feature is the bell tower, 65 meters high. The lower bell tower is square, topped by an octagonal tower crowned by a dome, in the style of French Renaissance architecture. The facade is given symmetry and harmony by two smaller domed bell towers on the corners.
The sculptures in the niches of the facade were made by different prominent Paris artists, most of whom were winners of the prestigious Prix de Rome. One group depicts depict doctors of the church defending it against various heresies; another grouop depicts, Saints. Groups of statues on either side of the facade depict the Cardinal Virtues, Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Force. The statue of "Strength", is by sculptor James Pradier(1792-1852), and carries a sword on his right side. "Temperance" was made by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875)
