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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, located in Maurice-Barrès Square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, was built between 1670 and 1676 for the convent of the Ladies of the Assumption, founded in 1622. The architect Charles Errard, inspired by antiquity and the Renaissance, designed a rotunda of 24 meters in diameter topped by a dome. The facade, decorated with six Corinthian columns, recalls that of the Sorbonne. The church was blessed in 1676 by the Archbishop of Bourges, Michel Poncet de La Rivière.

During the Revolution, the convent was abolished in 1790 and transformed into barracks for the Cent-Switzerlands. The church, disacralized, served as a decor store. In 1802, she reopened as a parish church of the Madeleine, before being entrusted in 1844 to the Polish Catholic Mission by Archbishop Denys Affre. It became a central place for the Polish diaspora in Paris, welcoming figures like Adam Mickiewicz or Frédéric Chopin.

Ranked as a historical monument in 1907, the church houses major works, including the Assumption of Charles de La Fosse (1676) adorning the dome, and a Cavaillé-Coll organ of the late 19th century. His court, formerly closed, was built in 1924 to form the current square Maurice-Barrès. The old convent buildings, partially preserved, now house the Court of Auditors.

The church was the scene of significant events, such as the funeral of General Lafayette (1834) or the temporary burial of Talleyrand (1838). Its furniture includes paintings by Joseph-Marie Vien and Carle Van Loo, as well as a Polish restaurant in the crypt. The Polish community, growing in the inter-war period, developed an intense spiritual and cultural life.

The organ, restored several times (notably in 2017-2018 by Bernard Dargassies), illustrates the artistic heritage of the building. Recent work has sought to preserve its mechanics and its harmony, while fighting against the deterioration of the interior renovations of the church. The instrument, electrified in 1970, preserves an 18th century French classic buffet.

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