Saint-Étienne parish church

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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The parish church Saint-Étienne du Marin, located in Place Joffre en Martinique, is a Catholic building built mainly in the 3rd quarter of the 18th century, with additions to the 19th century. Its history began in 1669, when the parish dedicated to Saint Stephen was erected, then encompassing the district of Sainte-Anne. The original chapel, destroyed by the English in 1693 during the war of the Augsburg League, was rebuilt around 1700. In 1684 the parish was entrusted to the Capuchins, who built a chapel at the location of the future outbuildings of the presbytery.

The construction of the present church was undertaken in 1766 by Capuchin Father Jean-Marie de Coutances, financed by his own funds because of the poverty of the parishioners. The Earl of Ennery lays the first stone. The building adopts a Latin cross plan, with a central nave and a hemicircular choir. The two side chapels were added in 1853 and 1854. The façade, of Jesuit style, is decorated with two Tuscan superimposed orders and a triangular pediment. The bell tower, separated from the main body, is made of Indian wood from the Morne-Gommier.

The church is classified as Historic Monument by order of 27 April 2012, after the cancellation of previous protections dating from 1987. She underwent several restorations, notably after Cyclone Dean in 2007, with work carried out between 2009 and 2015 by Étienne Poncelet, chief architect of Historic Monuments. The high altar, in white marble inlaid with coloured marble, represents a bas-relief of the Last Supper. According to legend, he was saved from a shipwreck, but the archives indicate that he was acquired by means of a bequest of 6,000 pounds by François Cornet in 1769.

The parish cemetery, located below the church, overlooks the bay of Cul-de-Sac du Marin. This neighborhood, one of the first occupied by the French in Martinique, thus preserves a religious and historical heritage marked by colonial conflicts and successive reconstructions. The building mixes European influences with local materials, as evidenced by its structure evoking an overturned boat hull, made by marine carpenters.

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