Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires

Paris (2e)

In 1629, Louis XIII laid the first stone of a church entrusted to the Discalced Augustinians — the "Petits Pères" — to thank the Virgin for the victory won over the Protestants at the siege of La Rochelle: it would be Notre-Dame des Victoires, Our Lady of Victories. The place soon became a focus of royal hope: in 1637, Brother Fiacre, a humble Augustinian, declared that the Virgin had appeared to him and shown him the child the barren queen would bring into the world; three novenas were ordered, and in September 1638 Anne of Austria gave birth to the future Louis XIV, the "Dieudonné", God-given. After the turmoil of the Revolution, the parish languished until a day in December 1836 when its disheartened priest, Father Desgenettes, heard an inner voice during Mass: "Consecrate your parish to the most holy and immaculate Heart of Mary." He at once founded an archconfraternity of prayer for the conversion of sinners: from ten faithful, the congregation grew to five hundred, then the association spread throughout the world, making the church the "refuge of sinners". The cures and graces attributed to Our Lady of Victories can be read on the walls: around 37,000 ex-voto plaques line the sanctuary from floor to vaults. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, passing through in 1887, received here, in her own words, the certainty that the Virgin had healed her as a child.

Getting there : Place des Petits-Pères, 75002 Paris. Métro Bourse (line 3) 200 m away; a stone's throw from the place des Victoires. Church open every day.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound