161 Paris : The Church of Saint Louis en l’Ile: twirly pulpit and relics of King Louis
The church of “St Louis on the Island” is , well, on the island – one of the two islands in the River Seine, in the centre of Paris, just across the road from the amazing Berthillon ice cream parlour. It was mostly built in the 17 th century for Saint Louis, the only saint to have also had a day job as King of France (in the 13 th century). When he was King he banned trial by ordeal, which is cool, and fought on the seventh crusade, which was less so. Inside there is a twirly pulpit, relics of Saint Louis, and a very fine painting by Jacques Stella of Jesus getting baptized. There are also wooden statues of a series of saints, a beautiful alms box, and a plaque presented by the citizens of the town of Saint Louis over in Missouri, USA. One of the stained glass pieces shows Jesus rising from the dead, waving his flag. They do a mass in English once a week .
