Saint-Pierre Church

Saint-Pierre Church

Saint-Pierre Church is one of the two churches on Montmartre Hill in Paris, France, though it is less well-known than the nearby Sacré-Cœur Basilica. However, it enjoyed higher prestige historically, as according to the earliest biography of Ignatius of Loyola, this was the place where he vowed to found the Society of Jesus.

According to its traditional history, Saint-Pierre Church was founded by Saint Denis in the third century, with only sporadic evidence suggesting that the Gauls and Romans once occupied this unsettling site. The first urban archaeologist, Theodore Vacquier, identified the remains of the Temple of Mars in this area, from which Montmartre derives its name. The early church here served as a stop along the pilgrimage route to the Basilica of Saint-Denis in the ninth century. In 1133, Louis VI purchased the site to build a Benedictine monastery. In 1147, during a grand royal ceremony, Pope Eugene III reconsecrated the church, with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux — the father of medieval mysticism — serving as deacon. By the 1680s, the Benedictines had moved downhill to establish a new monastery. Saint-Pierre Church was destroyed during the French Revolution and replaced with a semaphore tower. It was rebuilt in the 19th century and today attracts numerous visitors.

Saint-Pierre de Montmartre

Reason to visit: One of the oldest churches on Montmartre Hill

Continent: Europe【Europe】

Country/Region: France[France]

Province/State: Île-de-France Region [Ile-de-France Region]

City: Paris [Paris]