Église Saint-Georges de Crécy-la-Chapelle, Church in Crécy-la-Chapelle, France

The église Saint-Georges de Crécy-la-Chapelle is a small stone church in the center of Crécy-la-Chapelle, east of Paris, laid out in a cross shape and oriented eastward with a rounded apse at its far end. A bell tower rises on the north side, and the main entrance opens under a covered porch with carved stone supports and a Latin inscription above the door.

The present church was built on the site of an earlier church of the same dedication at the initiative of the Duke of Penthièvre, grandson of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, who attended the laying of the cornerstone on 18 October 1779. It was consecrated on 2 October 1781 by the Bishop of Meaux. From 1794 it served as a Temple of Reason and of the Supreme Being; an inscription on the facade recording this survived after Napoleon I returned the church to local Catholics by decree of 19 February 1806. The bell tower is the oldest part, from the 13th-century church, with exterior decoration added in the 17th century.

The church is dedicated to Saint George, a figure with deep roots in local tradition. Inside, visitors can see carved stone tombs, a painted wooden crucifix, and a statue of the Virgin and Child, each from a different period of the town's past.

The church sits in the center of town and is easy to reach on foot from the surrounding streets. It does not hold regular services today, so checking ahead before visiting is a good idea, as it opens mainly for events organized by the local diocese.

The bell tower is the oldest part of the building, surviving from the 13th-century church of Saint-Georges, though parts of its exterior decoration were added in the 17th century. An inscription on the facade recalls that from 1794 the church was used as a Temple of Reason and of the Supreme Being, and it remained after Napoleon I returned the church to local Catholics by decree of 19 February 1806.