Église Notre-Dame de Boulogne, Gothic church in Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Église Notre-Dame de Boulogne is a Gothic church in Boulogne-Billancourt with a high nave, pointed arches, and large stained glass windows. These windows flood the altar space with light and define the interior atmosphere of the building.
Philippe IV le Bel vowed the church after attending his daughter Isabelle's wedding to Edward II at Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1308; his son Philippe V le Long laid the first stone in 1319 at Les Menus, near the Seine. Pope John XXII made it a parish separate from Auteuil in 1330 under the name Notre-Dame-de-Boulogne-la-Petite. Sacked during the Revolution, it was restored from 1860 by architect Eugène Millet, a pupil of Viollet-le-Duc, in 14th-century Gothic, and became a minor basilica on 12 January 2025.
The church is a pilgrimage destination where believers have worshipped the Virgin Mary for generations. Visitors can sense this devotion through the lit candles, prayers, and regular celebrations throughout the year.
The church stands at the corner of Boulevard Jean-Jaurès, Avenue Jean-Baptiste-Clément and Avenue Charles-de-Gaulle, in the Boulogne-Billancourt town centre. It belongs to the Diocese of Nanterre and the Boulogne deanery. The building is classified as a monument historique under the 1862 list.
The church was elevated to the rank of minor basilica on 12 January 2025, in the presence of Apostolic Nuncio Celestino Migliore. It became the 17th minor basilica in France and the first in the Diocese of Nanterre.
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