Église des Grands-Carmes, Catholic church in the 2nd arrondissement, Marseille, France

The Église des Grands-Carmes stands on the butte des Carmes in Marseille's 2nd arrondissement. Its pale pink and cream stone facade has a rose window above a niche holding a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and a square tower with a clock and a small dome. Inside are nine side altars and a high altar of gilded wood begun in 1733 by Antoine Duparc and Jean-Gottlieb Courlaffsky.

Carmelite friars driven from the Holy Land settled at Les Aygalades near Marseille around 1238, then moved inside the walls in 1285 to a convent on the Roquebarbe hill, today's butte des Carmes. The present church was built from 1603, when Bishop Frédéric Ragueneau laid the first stone, to 1640, when the bell tower foundation stone was set. Closed and the friars expelled in 1790, it became a parish church again from 1803.

The church keeps nine side altars, each dedicated to a different devotion: the Crucifixion, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the Nativity, the Redeemer, the Sacred Heart, the Holy Sepulchre, Joseph of Nazareth, Teresa of Ávila and the release of souls from Purgatory. The high altar, in place since 1733, is the work of Antoine Duparc and Jean-Gottlieb Courlaffsky. The organ case dates from 1640, while the 1884 organ by François Mader can no longer be played.

The church stands on the butte des Carmes at Place des Grands-Carmes, between Place Jules-Guesde and Place Sadi-Carnot in the 2nd arrondissement, a short walk from the Rue de la République. It is not used for services and is permanently closed, so the interior cannot be visited; the facade, rose window and square bell tower with its octagonal upper stage can be seen from the square.

The bell tower was transformed from a square shape to an octagonal form after the corners of the original structure deteriorated over time. This unusual architectural adjustment is visible today and shows how the building adapted to wear and damage.