"Where the hand of God is a shelter for lovers !" Paris Off The Beaten Path Tip by kokoryko

Notre Dame du Travail

Yes, you read it right: Our lady of the Work. Not in working mood, I decided, to make a bike trip in Paris this morning and in the south of Paris I came across this little church. I had some difficulty, after to leave this place, not because it is a nice and interesting church to visit, but I suddenly almost broke in tears when discovering this statue inside; oh, it is not a world class piece of art, but I looked at it and realised I was in a church: here, the hand of God is a shelter for lovers. Naked man and woman, kissing in a church, protected by God! We are not at St Nicolas du Chardonnet (an integrist catholic church of Paris), here, there is poesy and tolerance, and that moved me so much; may be I am an idiot getting so easily moved.
I better should write about this uncommon church: it appears as a very common religious building from outside, and what a surprise after pushing the door! Industrial architecture, steel pillars, vaults, arches. . . Eiffel and Baltard (the creator of the famous pavilions having his name) are not far. . . . this church has been built by architect and structural engineer Jules Astuc in 1901, fulfilling the wish of the priest who would be responsible of the future church, asking for a building “which would unite the workers of all classes on the field of religion”. So, people working all week in factories, would not go in unknown territories on Sunday. . . . Well!!
The lay out is quite classical ( Pictures 2 and 3), a main nave and low sides, but the pillars are riveted steel pillars, arches very light (and leaving passage to light) steel structures. . . Quite beautiful. The high sides are also steel plates with wide windows ( picture 4), and only the choir has a “classical” stone design. (picture 5). A bit more of this off the beaten path church in the next tip.

59 rue Vercingetorix, Paris 14eme
Metro: Gaîté
Open from 8 am to 12.15 and 2 pm to 6.30 pm
Portuguese mass: Sunday, 11 am.

Phone: 01 44 10 72 92
Website: http://paroisse.ndtravail.free.fr/