Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray church, Catholic parish church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France
Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray is a Catholic parish church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, Seine-Maritime. Its 16th-century nave has a dark slate roof and pointed-arch windows between stone buttresses; the 17th-century square tower carries a clock face and a steep grey roof with a cross. A small chapel with a cross stands at the far left.
The nave dates from the 16th century and the bell tower from the 17th. The choir, built in 1619, was demolished in 1836 and rebuilt the following year. Stained glass listed as a historic monument in 1908 was destroyed in 1941, and the building has been recorded in the general inventory of cultural heritage since 1987.
The parish is named after Saint Stephen, and its main door became the second Holy Door of the Rouen archdiocese during the Jubilee of Mercy. A Mass of reparation was celebrated on 2 October 2016 to return the church, profaned that July, to worship. Inside are a 16th-century polychrome wooden statue of Saint Anne and a 17th-century painting on the religious vocation.
The church stands in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, in the Seine-Maritime department south of Rouen. It is an active Catholic parish church, so visits depend on the mass schedule; the main door, made a Holy Door of the archdiocese on 2 October 2016, is the element to look for at the entrance.
On 26 July 2016, during morning Mass, two attackers took hostages in the church and killed the assisting priest Jacques Hamel; both were shot dead and the Islamic State claimed the attack. A Mass of reparation was held on 2 October 2016, and the main door then became the second Holy Door of the archdiocese for the Jubilee of Mercy.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,669 contributors worldwide.