Saint-Etienne Church, Lille

The present church is built on the site of the first Jesuit chapel built in 1610 and destroyed in 1740 in a fire. In 1743, the architect Dominique Delesalle drew up the plans for the new church and the foundation stone was laid under the direction of the architect François Joseph Gombert, who had already worked on the church of the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Lille.

About this building

The 29-metre-high façade of the church is made of dressed stone. Its style, resolutely classical, is also inspired by the baroque style of the Gesù church in Rome. The interior of the church, 61 metres long, is sober and luminous and follows a Latin cross plan. The church has three naves, all three ending in semi-dome and is lit by 32 semicircular bays decorated with stained glass windows made by Charles Gaudelet between 1854 and 1862.

Key Features

  • Interior features

Visitors information

  • Café within 500m

Other nearby buildings

Sainte-Catherine Church, Lille

The church of Sainte-Catherine is linked to the history of Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille, patron saint of the city of Lille. The statue had been saved from the destruction of the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre, and was sheltered for a time in the church of Sainte-Catherine. The building, in its present state, was rebuilt in the 15th and early 16th centuries, and then remodelled in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Saint-Maurice Church, Lille

The church of Saint-Maurice, located a stone's throw from the Lille Flandres railway station, was erected from the end of the 14th century to the end of the 19th century as a hall church with vessels of the same height and width. It is Philippe Canissié, architect of the town, who directed the overall restoration of the church between 1859 and 1875.