Exterior view

The Convent of the Order of Sainte-Marie de la Visitation was established in Paris in 1619. It was closed in the French Revolution and its church was given in 1802 to a Protestant congregation which, as the Protestant Temple du Marais, continues its ministry to the present.

The church was designed by Fran�ois Mansart in 1632. The church’s benefactor, Noël Brulart de Sillery, an admirer of the Pantheon in Rome, desired a centralized plan. Mansart, no doubt also influenced by the chapel of the Château d’Anet, delivered a highly original design. The plan, strictly central in conception, consists of a domed circle round which are grouped three curved chapels. The central chapel, forming the choir is covered with an oval dome into which strong light falls from a tall lantern.

The design for the exterior was also quite original with the street elevation’s three components, the arch with its Michelangelo inspired portal and projecting cross, the toit a l’imperiale with its lantern, and the cross-topped spire, drawing the eye heavenward.

View the ground plan of the church.