Church of Saint Lawrence
(68, boulevard Magenta, and 119, rue du Faubourg Saint Martin, Paris
10)
In 583, Gregory of Tours mentioned this church, begun as a chapel.
This monastic church was near an old Roman road, now the Rue du
Faubourg Saint Denis. An earlier church was taken down to be replaced
by the present one, whose choir was dedicated in 1429. Only the
old tower remains from the 12th century church. The 15th century
monastery and parish church has been enlarged and reconstructed
several times. During the revolutionary period, it was used as a
Temple of Reason (1789), then a Temple of Old Age (1798). It was
restored to the Catholic Church in 1802. The monastic enclosure
was removed when the Boulevard Magenta was put through in the 19th
century, and its neo-úGothic facade dates only from 1865.
This was the parish church of Vincent do Paul from 1632 to 1660,
and of Louise de Marillac from 1641 to 1660. Although she had requested
burial at Saint Lazare, Louise was buried in the chapel of the Visitation
in this church, where she came to pray and to make her Easter Communion
with the other sisters. Her remains were here for 95 years, until
1755, when her body was transferred to the motherhouse. Marking
the spot is the simple wooden cross with the words Spes Unica, ["(Hail,
0 Cross, our) Only Hope"], the monument she requested in her
will.
Several modem paintings and stained glass windows show Saint Vincent
blessing Saint Louise and the first Daughters of Charity, and Saint
Vincent performing works of mercy (galley convicts, slaves in Algiers,
etc.) are modem. A small plaque also reads: "1660. Saint Vincent
de Paul, founder of the priests of the Mission and of the Sisters
of Charity, often visited the Church of Saint Lawrence, his parish
church." On one of his many visits to Parisian churches during
his enforced stay, Pius VII came to Saint Lawrence in 1804.
Nicholas de Lestocq (d. 1661), pastor of Saint Lawrence from 1627
to 1661, came with Adrien Le Bon (1577?-1651), the prior of Saint
Lazare, to offer the property of Saint Lazare to Monsieur Vincent.
After repeated and lengthy discussion and discernment, they succeeded.
Since Vincent do Paul was ill and confined to his room, Lestocq
assisted Louise on her deathbed and celebrated her funeral. He also
would send confessors from the parish to the Daughters' motherhouse.
A later pastor, Nicholas Gobillon (1626-1706), venerated Louise
de Marillac, and wrote her first biography. To the right of the
church is a small park, the Square Saint Laurent, which marks the
site of part of the old parish cemetery. Many of the earliest Daughters
of Charity were buried either here or near the chapel were Louise
herself was interred. Their remains were removed and placed in the
catacombs of Paris. Their removal was occasioned by public health
concerns all through the city in the late 18th and early l9th centuries.
During the sack of Saint Lazare, revolutionaries burst into its
house chapel. Finding a reliquary of Saint Vincent, four of them
brought it reverently to Saint Lawrence for safekeeping. They returned
to the task at hand--looting and pillaging.
Back to Museum
Motherhouse of the Congregation of the Mission (New Saint Lazare)
(95, rue de S6vres, Paris 6)
Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity (1 801-1815) (II, rue du
Vieux Colombier, Paris 6)
Mottlerhouse of the Daughters of Charity (140, rue du Bac, Paris
7Church of Saint Etienne du Mont (Place Sainte Genevieve, Paris
5)
Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris (Notre Dame de Paris), H6tel Dieu
Convent of the Visitation (17, rue Saint Antoine, Paris 4)
Church of saint Lawrence (68, boulevard Magenta, and 119, rue du
Faubourg Saint Martin, Paris 10)
Clichy-la-Garonne
