A little history of Saint-Leu-Saint-Gilles church in Paris
And also
The tops
We are here rue Saint-Denis, in the Halles district. Our small church is hiding here, between two shops... It was raised in the 12th century: at that time, we found here abbey Saint-Magloire.
This monastery housed a chapel dedicated to saint Gilles, a popular hermit from Provence who lived in the 7th century. In 1235, they re-raised a church, independent from the abbey, dedicated to our hermit but also to saint Loup (Leu), bishop of Sens, in Picardy.
It was altered in the 14th and 19th century. In 1611, the current choir was raised. In 1857, they destroyed the apse when they opened the boulevard de Sebastopol: famous architect Victor Baltard transformed the church...
Since 1928, the church is the seat of Saint-Sepulchre Knights, an order found by Godefroy de Bouillon in 1099: those sirs brought sainte Hélène’s relics in the crypt, from Hautvilliers abbey (Marne, Eastern France)...