Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Gothic Revival church in 1st arrondissement, Marseille, France
Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul is a Gothic Revival church in Marseille's 1st arrondissement featuring two tall spires that rise above the surrounding streets. The building showcases ornate wooden doors decorated with bronze elements and colored glass windows throughout its interior.
Construction began in 1855 under architect François Reybaud on the site of an earlier Augustinian chapel from 1611 that was demolished. The work stretched across several decades before the church reached its final form in the late 1800s.
Locals call it "les Réformés" after the Reformed Augustinians' chapel that stood here, though it is dedicated to Saint Vincent de Paul. On the last Sunday of November, Mass is celebrated in Provençal to honour the santon figurines used in Provençal Christmas cribs. The unfinished facade's planned sculptures were never carved; a scale model on curé Vidal's tomb in a side chapel shows the intended ornamentation.
The church is open daily except Sunday from 09.00 to 12.00 and 13.00 to 16.30. Weekday Mass is at 18.30, with an extra Mass at 12.10 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; Sunday Mass is at 10.30. The main entrance is up a perron of 25 steps, and the facade is oriented west toward the top of the Canebière.
The facade was never finished: the sculptures designed by abbé Pougnet were never carved, and the stone still shows the reserved blocks meant to hold them. A scale model of the decorated facade, at one centimetre per metre, stands on curé Vidal's tomb in a side chapel.
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