Sainte-Trinité, Paris

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.[2]

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 Place de la Trinité and the facade of the church (left) painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1875)

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.[3]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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,[6] 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[7] and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, California.

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.[8]

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.[9] 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)[10]

• 
  The Bell tower
• 
  Detail of the upper facade
• 
  Sculpture on the cornice of facade
• 
  The facade
• 
  Detail of the bell tower

The 93-meter-long church has an iron frame, which allowed much greater open space in the interior. The interior is lavishly decorated, a feature enhanced by the large windows on the upper level made with a minimum of colored glass and a majority of white decor glass, which provide abundant light. Polychrome paintings decorate much of the top level, contrasting with the white walls and columns of the lower level, and the entire interior has lavish sculptural decoration.

• 
  The main organ on the tribune
• 
  The choir organ

La Trinité features two organs, a Cavaillé-Coll chancel organ and a Cavaillé-Coll grand organ located in the balcony. The latter instrument has been extensively renovated and expanded over the decades:

• 1869 Original construction by the Cavaillé-Coll firm
• 1871 Reconstruction and repairs by the Cavaillé-Coll firm after damages incurred during the Paris Commune of 1870
• 1901 Rebuilding by Merklin
• 1934 Rebuilding by the Pleyel-Cavaillé-Coll firm
• 1962–65 Rebuilding by the Beuchet-Debierre firm

The current specifications of the grand organ are:

The French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of eleven, and was appointed organist at the church in 1931, at the age of twenty-three. He held the post for 61 years until his death in 1992. During this period he wrote many of his most important works.[18]

The titular organists at La Trinité include

• Charles-Alexis Chauvet (1869-1871)[19]
• Alexandre Guilmant (1871–1901)[20]
• Charles Quef (1901–1931)
• Olivier Messiaen (1931–1992)
• Naji Hakim (1993–2008)
• Maxime Patel (since 1999)
• Loïc Mallié (since 2011)[21]

• Dumoulin, Aline; Ardisson, Alexandra; Maingard, Jérôme; Antonello, Murielle; Églises de Paris (2010), Éditions Massin, Issy-Les-Moulineaux, ISBN 978-2-7072-0683-1 (in French)

• List of historic churches in Paris

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Église de la Sainte-Trinité de Paris.

• L'Église de la Trinité home page
• Article in patrimoine-histoire.fr, on the history and art of the church

48°52′38″N 2°19′53″E