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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul de Blois, originally named Chapel Saint-Louis, was built in the 17th century for the Jesuit college of the city. Its construction, begun in 1634 under the direction of Stephen Martellange, was completed in 1678 thanks to the financing of Gaston d'Orléans. This prince exiled in Blois made it a monument to his glory and that of his family, with an interior richly decorated by Gaspard Imbert. The works, interrupted several times, were marked by architectural transformations, notably by Charles Turmel, who altered the facade and the nave.

In 1773 the expulsion of the Jesuits from France led to the decommissioning of the college and its chapel. During the Revolution, the building became a Temple of Liberty, then a forage store after suffering symbolic destruction in 1793. He did not return to his religious vocation until 1826, under the name of Saint Vincent de Paul, until he was restored in the 19th century by Jules de La Morandière. Ranked a historic monument in 1917, the church preserves remarkable elements such as the cenotaphs of Gaston d-Orléans and his daughter, Anne-Marie de Montpensier.

The architecture of the church reflects the Jesuit traditions, with a three-span nave, a pentagonal apse choir, and a three-level facade rhythmized by pilasters and pediments. Inside, the sober decoration, doric order, contrasts with the choir richly decorated with marbles and sculptures. The vault of lambris and the dome, added in 1655, as well as the 19th century stained glass windows (only one remains), testify to the stylistic evolutions of the monument. The building also houses a statue of the Immaculate Conception, added in 1880 to replace a missing altarpiece.

The Jesuit college, whose church was the chapel, was disused in 1760, and its buildings, partially destroyed in the twentieth century, left room for offices. Only part of the south body remains today. The church, owned by the municipality of Blois, remains a major testimony of Jesuit influence in France and of local religious history, marked by revolutionary upheavals and subsequent restorations.

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