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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, located on Rue de la Lune in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, is a neoclassical building built between 1823 and 1830 by architect Étienne-Hippolyte Godde. It succeeds two earlier religious buildings: a 16th century chapel dedicated to Saint Louis and Saint Barbe, destroyed in 1590 by the League, then a 17th century church, built on the initiative of Anne of Austria after the announcement of her pregnancy. This second church, which became well national during the Revolution, was demolished in 1822 because of its state of degradation.

The current construction, based on stilts, incorporates the bell tower of the seventeenth century, the only vestige of the previous building. Its basilical plane, without transept, includes a central nave flanked by bottoms, separated by doric columns. The choir houses an octagonal Baptistery accessible by seven steps, symbolizing capital sins, and major paintings, including the Annunciation of Giovanni Lanfranco (1619-1620) and The Virgin and Child of Cigoli (1601), both of Italian origin.

Ranked a historical monument in 1983, the church is famous for its organ designed by John Abbey in the late 19th century, restored in 1950 and 1988. She gave her name to the neighborhood of Bonne-Nouvelle and to a subway station. Since 1989, the parish has been entrusted to the Neocatechumenal Way, and the church is dedicated to Our Lady of Good News, patron saint of the media (radio, television).

The history of the church is marked by figures such as Abbé Jacques-François Favre, a refractory priest in 1787, or Anne of Austria, whose legend links maternity to the foundation of the second building. The works of art also include paintings by Philippe de Champaigne, Claude Vignon, and a series of paintings by Nicolas-Auguste Hesse illustrating L-Annunciation and La Visitation.

Architecturally, the neoclassical facade features a doric column peristyle and a triangular pediment. The unusual north-south orientation places the gate rue de la Lune and the bedside rue Beauregard. The interior decor, completed in 1836 by Abel de Pujol and Hesse, combines classical influences and religious symbolism, as the apocalyptic grayness of the choir.

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