St.-Roch, 1er Arrt, Paris

Charlotte Louise Ho, on June 18, 2007, said:

The bullet holes in this church’s facade recall one of the most significant military debuts in French history. On 5 October 1795 a fierce revolutionary skirmish occurred on St-Roch’s steps, when a royalist mob was scattered by the then-little-known general Napoleon Bonaparte. Ten days later, Napoleon was appointed commander-in-chief of the home forces.

Originally designed by Jacques Lemercier (of Sorbonne fame), Louis XIV laid its cornerstone in 1653 (completed in 1754). Jules Hardouin-Mansart built the oval chapel dedicated to the Virgin (1705) and sculptor Rene Charpentier decorated the edifice in carved imagery. Also worth mentioning: memorials to playwright Corneille, philosopher Diderot and Louis XIV’s gardener, Andre Le Notre, whose bust by Antoine Coysevox is to the left of the chancel.

The facade, by Robert de Cotte (1735), is yet another Parisian bow to the Jesuit Il Gesu in Rome. Weekly concerts are given here, often featuring this 1752 rococo organ.

296, rue St-Honore, 1er Arrt.