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Origin and history

The church Saint-Paul-Saint-François-Xavier, commonly known as Saint Paul, is a baroque church from the 3rd quarter of the 17th century (1661–73), located in the centre of Bordeaux, Gironde, New Aquitaine. Dedicated to Catholic worship since its construction, it has been listed as a historic monument since 18 December 1997. Its architecture reflects the influence of the Counter-Reform, with double arched vaults, side chapels and an untabotious dome project at the cross of the transept.

The history of the church is linked to the Jesuits, settled in Bordeaux since the end of the sixteenth century. In 1607, a novitiate was founded there, before the church was built between 1661 and 1673 under the direction of Brother Mathurin Biziou, architect, thanks to the donations of Olive de Lestonnac, owner of Château Margaux. Consecrated on 22 May 1676 by Archbishop Henri of Bethune, she honoured Saint Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary. His high altar, made between 1741 and 1748 by Guillaume Coustou (son) and Pierre Vernet, escaped revolutionary destruction through a trick: the saint was disguised as a revolutionary with a phrygian hat and accessories.

The architecture is inspired by Roman and Parisian Jesuit models, such as the Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis church in Paris. The altarpiece, a Baroque masterpiece, combines green and red marbles, with an Apotheosis of Saint Francis Xavier carved by Coustou. In 2007, a metallic chandelier designed by Jean-François Buisson was added to compensate for the lack of a dome, adapting to liturgical times by playing coloured light. Since 1992, the church has been served by Dominicans in the province of Toulouse.

The site, originally linked to a Jesuit college and to the reception of the pilgrims of Compostela, also houses an adjacent convent. Its organ and sculptural heritage make it a major place of the Bordeaux baroque, bearing witness to the religious and artistic influence of the Society of Jesus in Aquitaine.

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