Sainte Elisabeth de Hongrie Church

The Sainte Elisabeth de Hongrie Church, built 1628-46, was once part of a Franciscan convent. Elisabeth was a 13^th century Hungarian princess who supported the Franciscan movement, died young, became a symbol of Christian charity and was canonized only a few years after her death.

On the below plan from 1739 you can see the convent and the church placed between the priory Saint-Martin-des-Champs (Saint Martin in the Fields) – now the National Conservatory for Arts and Crafts and the “Arts-et-Métiers” Museum (see previous posts here and here) and the The Temple (see previous posts here).

The Revolution and later the Haussmannian reshaping of Paris has now left us with just the church.

Most of the interior, including the stained glass windows and the organ are from the 19^th century. The church had to be redecorated after it had been used as a warehouse during the first revolutionary years. Around the ambulatory you can find nice wooden 17^th century bas-reliefs, brought there from the Saint Vaast Abbey in northern France. 

There is an indirect link to the Knight Templars who occupied The Temple until the order was brutally dissolved early 14th century. The Sainte Elisabeth Church is today the church of the Knights of the Order of Malta, somehow indirectly the heirs of the Knight Templars. We can see their banners in the church.