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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Ferdinand was built in response to the fulcruming population growth of Argenteuil, whose population increased from 17,000 in 1901 to more than 70,000 in 1931. This boom led to the construction of a place of worship in the new district of the City of Gardens, where workers from the Gennevilliers power station resided. The first stone was laid in 1931, and the church was financed largely by Mrs Ferdinand Daulnoy, according to the plans of architect Alfred Nasousky.

The building, of neo-Roman style, was consecrated on 19 May 1932 by Mgr Roland-Gosselin, then bishop of the diocese of Versailles, on which the parish at the time depended. Its architecture is characterized by a nave of five spans flanked by collaterals, a polygonal bedside, and a portal decorated with plant motifs. The tympanum has a bust of Saint Ferdinand, patron saint of the church, while the bell tower-poach has geminied bays surmounted by an oculus.

Inside, the space of 32.5 meters by 15.5 meters is arched in quadripartite, with arches in the middle, resting on columns with plant capitals. Originally attached to the diocese of Versailles, the parish of Saint-Ferdinand now includes the dean of Enghien-Montmorency (diocese of Pontoise) and forms a parish grouping with Enghien and Saint-Gratien, marking its institutional evolution since the 1930s.

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