Église Notre-Dame, Gothic church in Cholet, France

Église Notre-Dame is a neo-Gothic stone church in central Cholet, built from 1854 to 1887 to plans by architect Alfred Tessier. Two openwork stone spires rise 65 metres above the parvis, each topped by a wrought-iron cross. Inside, clustered columns carry pointed arches and ribbed vaulting, with a metal-ring chandelier hanging over the tiled central aisle.

A priory chapel existed here from around the 11th century, built by monks of the Vendée abbey of Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm, and became a parish church around 1185 under its first priest, Guillaume de Bland. The 15th-century chapel survived the Revolution by serving as fodder store, stable and prison, but fell into ruin and was closed in 1812. It was demolished in 1814 and replaced by a third church, finished in 1820 under priest Élie Beurier. That building soon proved too small, so the present church was built from 1853-1854 to 1887 to plans by architect Alfred Tessier.

The parish is named for the Virgin, whose statue by Cholet sculptor Stanislas Biron stands on the facade above the main entrance. Inside, two marble groups by Cholet-born Hippolyte Maindron are kept: Sainte Geneviève disarming Attila (1857) and the Baptism of Clovis by Saint Remi (1865). A 17th-century oil painting, The Triumph of the Virgin, hangs in the church.

The church stands on the parvis Saint-Jean-Paul-II, a short walk from place Travot in the historic centre of Cholet. The main entrance faces the parvis, where the statue of the Virgin by Stanislas Biron is visible. The building is owned by the commune and open as a parish church.

The facade was left unfinished: the blocks reserved for sculptures and Gothic detailing were never carved, so the stonework stops short of the intended ornament. The statue of the Virgin above the main entrance, visible from the parvis, is by Cholet sculptor Stanislas Biron.