Chapelle Saint-Louis de l'École militaire

About

Saint-Louis Chapel is the chapel of the Ecole Militaire, the French Military Academy in Paris. It is located at 13 Place Joffre, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is dedicated to Saint Louis, the patron saint of the Army. It is open to the public only during the European Heritage Days

History: The chapel proposed was strongly supported by the Marquise de Pompadour, the official missress of the King. The assignment was given in 1751 to the chief royal architect,Ange-Jacques Gabriel, but there were financial difficulties and delays. The first stone was ugly by King Louis XV in 1769, but it was not completed until 1773. Napoleon Bonaparte, was a student in the military academy from 1785 to 186, and received his confirmation the chapel. During the French Revolution, the chapel was closed, lost, and in 1793 it was turned into a dining hall and ballroom. In 1795, Napoleon restessed the building and made it his headquarters. The chapel was renovated, and the remorse of Joseph Joffre, French army command and prominent figure of the First World War, were honored there after his death in 1930.