Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, located at 25 Rue de la Lune, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris and is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish church built between 1823 and 1830. It is built in the

Neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...

, and is dedicated to ''Notre-Dame de Bonne-Nouvelle'' ("our lady of good news"), referring to the Annunciation. The neighbourhood of ''Bonne-Nouvelle'', the ''Boulevard de Bonne-Nouvelle'' (one of the Grand Boulevards that replaced the Louis XIII wall in 1709) and the Bonne Nouvelle metro station are named after it. The church was registered as a national historical monument in 1983.

History

The first chapel was built on the site in 1551, originally dedicated to Saint Louis and Saint Barbara, then rededicated to the Bonne Nouvelle, or the Annunciation of the coming of Christ. This first church was destroyed 1591 by the Catholic League during the siege of Paris by the future Henry IV. Queen

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 un ...

laid the first stone of a new church in 1628. During the French Revolution, the building was badly damaged and in 1823 finally had to be pulled down. The new church was built between 1823 and 1830 by the architect Étienne-Hippolyte Godde in the neoclassical style, which was very popular following the Restoration of the French Monarchy.

Exterior

File:Église ND de Bonne-Nouvelle.jpg, West side of the church File:Paris Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle 35.JPG, Facade of the church File:Eglise Notre-Dame de Bonne-Nouvelle, Paris 23 April 2017 001.jpg, Bell tower (17th c.)_ The facade of the church, facing north, is modelled after an ancient Roman basilica, with two

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of c ...

columns forming a

peristyle In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=f ...

over the porch. The bell tower is the only surviving vestige of the earlier 17th-century exterior.

Interior

File:NDBonneNouvelleChoeur.JPG, Nave and choir File:Paris - Église Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle - Nef.JPG, The dome and the choir File:Paris, Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, Innenansicht (7).jpg, The choir and the organ Since the church is surrounded by other taller buildings, the interior of the church is dimly lit. The altar, beneath the dome, is lit by a skylight and three chandeliers. The nave and choir are lined with rows of Doric columns creating arcades with rounded arches. File:Baptismal font @ Église Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle @ Paris (35155305711).jpg, The Baptismal Font File:Église Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle @ Paris (34897909730).jpg, Decoration of the Baptismal Font - Saint James. The most distinctive feature of the interior is the large octagonal Baptismal Font in center. It is designed for full-immersion baptisms, with the person baptized completely immersed in the water, rather than priest simply touching water on their face. It is one of the seven sacraments which mark entry into a Christian life, a ceremony dating back to ancient Christian church. The octagonal font is surrounded with mosaics which depict the symbols of the four Evangelists; a lion (Saint Mark), a bull (Saint Luke), an eagle (Saint John) and a man with wings (Saint Matthew). The seven step represent the seven capital sins. The steps stop at bronze and nickel cross set into the floor.Dumoulin, "Les Églises de Paris" (2017), p. 41

Art and Decoration

File:Église Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle @ Paris (35155294891).jpg, "The Virgin surrounded by the Saints" (right), by

Ludovico Cardi Lodovico Cardi (21 September 1559 – 8 June 1613), also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last nine years ...

The choir of the church displays paintings by three notable Baroque artists from the 16th and 17th centuries. * "The Annunciation" by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647) of Parma, ar vivid Baroque display of skill with darkness and light, and tones of red and orange, around the figures of the Virgin Mary and the Angel Gabriel. * "The satisfaction of Isabel of France" by Philippe de Champagne (1602-1674). This painting depicts the dedication of the monastery of Longchamps to the Virgin Mary by its founder, Isabel, the sister of

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

, or Saint Louis, featuring the figures of Isabel and the against a background of the Paris cityscape. * "The Virgin Surrounded by the Saints" by

of Florence (1559-1613). This shows The Virgin meeting Saint

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...

Mary Magdalen Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

, Saint Dominic, and

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

. *A notable 19th century work with a Parisian theme is found in the lower left aisle: "Saint Genevieve distributing bread to the Parisians", by

Jean-Victor Schnetz Jean-Victor Schnetz (; April 14, 1787 in Versailles – March 15, 1870 in Paris) was a French academic painter well regarded for his historical and genre paintings. Biography Schnetz studied in Paris under Jacques-Louis David. His works ...

(1787-1870)Dumoulin (2017) page 42

Organ

File:Paris, Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, Orgel (1).jpg The church organ was built by John Abbey at the end of the 19th century, then was restored in 1950 by Joseph Gutschenritter, and again in 1988 by Jean-Marc Cicchero.

Bibliography

Notes and Citations

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External Links

Web site of the church Roman Catholic churches completed in 1830 Monuments historiques of Paris Roman Catholic churches in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris 1830 establishments in France 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France