Église Saint-Pierre d'Audinghen, church located in Pas-de-Calais, in France
The Église Saint-Pierre d'Audinghen is a brick-and-concrete church built in 1959–1960 to plans by architect Alexandre Colladant, with a sloping roof and glass-in-concrete windows. Its detached open bell tower stands apart from the nave: a concrete lyre shape crowned by a rooster, with three horizontal beams holding two bells. Inside are two large stained-glass windows showing the Virgin and the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.
The original church in Audinghen was destroyed in 1943 during bombing, but the community chose to build a new structure rather than reconstruct an identical one. The building was erected between 1959 and 1960 as a sign of renewal and hope after wartime destruction.
The church keeps statues salvaged from the village church destroyed in the 1943 Allied bombings, reinstalled here after the war. Its 200 m² fresco by Geneviève d'Andréis shows Christ embracing the world, and two large stained-glass windows depict the Virgin and the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.
The church stands in the village of Audinghen, on the Pas-de-Calais coast between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais. The freestanding concrete bell tower rises beside the low church building, with stone crosses and grave markers grouped in front of it. Look for the grave marker inscribed "FAMILLE LEPRETRE" near the base of the tower.
The church's distinctive bell tower is shaped like a lyre and made of concrete, giving the structure an unexpected artistic character. Inside, a large mural by Geneviève d'Andréis depicting Christ embracing the world covers approximately 200 square meters.
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