Église Notre-Dame-du-Calvaire de Châtillon, Catholic church in Châtillon, France.
Église Notre-Dame-du-Calvaire de Châtillon is a red-brick church in the neo-Byzantine style, built from 1932 to 1934. Its facade has a central arched doorway with a wooden double door, a stone Pietà in a niche above, and six bronze bas-reliefs of the theological and cardinal virtues. A massive square bell tower with a single bell stands to the right.
Built from 1932 to 1934 under the Œuvre des Chantiers du Cardinal, founded in 1931 by Cardinal Verdier to fund Catholic churches in Paris and its suburbs. Jean-Pierre Laurens was chosen to decorate it but died in 1932 after only the sketches; his wife Yvonne Diéterle Laurens directed his pupils, including Georges Cheyssial and Gabriel Genieis, who painted the frescoes between 1935 and 1962. The architects were Paul Louis Marie Flandrin, then Yves-Marie Froidevaux. The church was listed as a monument historique on 24 June 2004.
The three domes carry frescoes devoted in turn to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, sketched by Jean-Pierre Laurens before his death in 1932 and painted by his pupils under Yvonne Diéterle Laurens from 1935. An arcade honours Joan of Arc, recalling Laurens's friendship with Charles Péguy; beside her statue hangs a speaking trumpet given by the decommissioned ship Jeanne-d'Arc in 2010.
The church sits on Avenue de la Paix and is easy to reach on foot, with plenty of space in front of the building. Visitors should note that regular services take place, so checking opening times beforehand is helpful.
The artistic decoration of the interior was not completed until 1962, many years after the building itself finished. Artists worked gradually on the frescoes and reliefs, slowly filling the space with religious meaning over time.
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