Église Sainte-Marguerite

Église Sainte-Marguerite is a Roman Catholic church in Paris, founded in 1625. Its restrained neoclassical façade presents Doric columns and pilasters rather than Baroque ornament. Inside, a long nave rises beneath rounded arches and cradle vaults, while small oval windows filter the light.

The Chapel of the Souls in Purgatory brings a more theatrical vision to this austere setting. Victor Louis designed it between 1760 and 1764, using trompe-l’œil murals by Paolo Antonio Brunetti and Gabriel Briard to imitate three-dimensional sculpture. Charles Dorigny’s Descent from the Cross joins parts of Catherine Duchemin’s funeral monument in the choir. Most stained-glass windows date from the nineteenth century, including one recalling Pope Pius VII’s visit in 1805.

During the French Revolution, the church remained open while most priests swore allegiance to the Constitutional government. It later became a Temple of Liberty and Equality, and artworks from destroyed churches replaced those lost inside. A plaque in the adjoining cemetery marks the supposed burial place of Louis XVII, although nineteenth-century investigations identified different remains. French authorities classified the church as a national historic monument in 2017.