The Story Behind Saint Sulpice Church in Paris

Throughout my residency here in Paris, I have managed to visit so many churches and enjoy the beauty of their architecture that would keep anyone in utter amuse. I have first visited a church when I was 21 during my visit to the USA. My host family managed to make my wish come true and they took me to one of the churches at Wausau, Wisconsin. That church was very simple and I still remember the details vividly. I was so excited to finally visit it and I had no idea that there was a church located in the Old City of Tripoli back home in Libya. Luckily, last year, I got the chance to visit Saint Mary church with my family. Too bad that this church needs a lot of construction work because it has lost a lot of its beauty from the inside but some locals who live in the old city try to preserve it but it is in urgent need to be saved since it is a valuable asset Tripoli has.   

I am glad that I visited so many churches here in France and I hope to visit as much as possible in the future in other countries. Anyway, yesterday, as I was walking in the 6th district and I was around Saint Sulpice square where the fountain and church are. This street is full of brands clothes and coffee shops around every corner. It is an open space where families sit and the kids play around the fountain, also, you can find people feeding the roaming pigeons. Therefore, I decided to visit the church which is named after the Parish Saint Sulpice. 

He was born in Berry, a Gallo-Roman province, from a large landowning family. It was a diverse community with diverse religions and many tribes. There were a few Christians. As Saint Sulpice grew older, he was sent by his family to serve as a page to the king Guntram. Subsequently, he returned to his family's farm where he cared for the poor, visited prisoners, and built chapels.  

His bishop, Austrégésile, called him and ordained him priest at the age of 40, thus, making him the patron saint of late vocations. On the death of his bishop, in the cathedral, the Christian people acclaimed that Sulpice was worthy to be the successor and become the people's bishop. Nevertheless, words spread and neighboring bishops heard about this so Sulpice became bishop of Bourges, a town in the center of France today, which was an extensive diocese. He was the bishop from 570 until 647 when he died. Sulpice had great concern for the poor and sick and he founded a Hotel-Dieu for them. He evangelized the countryside, building churches and instructing the clergy. He played a significant role in the regional councils which wrote to civil and ecclesiastic laws. Also, an abbey was built on his tomb outside the city.  

His reputation spread around France that the church made him a saint. He became the patron saint of some thirty towns and at least 340 churches all over France. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Abbey of Saint Germain des Pres built a parish church for its farmers, it was placed under the protection of this great saint. Saint Sulpice is still the patron saint of this church. People celebrate his Saint's day on the 17th of January. There is a statue of Saint Sulpice by Franceschi above the door of the sacristy, which replaces a status in ancient wood that was burned during the revolution. 

Source of information: Saint Sulpice Eglise, Paris. 

More pictures from the inside of the church: