114 Paris 2nd arrondissement - Notre Dame des Victoires, HQ of the National Lottery

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 Louis XIII swore he would have a church built in Paris if he won the battle against the protestants, back in 1628. He won the siege of La Rochelle, and this church was built. During the French revolutionary years it was recycled as the HQ of the National Lottery – the church got it back in 1802.

The architecture is from the very chunky indeed period. Around the altar are six paintings by Carle van Loo. One of them shows Louis swearing to have a church built in Paris… and the other six are scenes from the life of Saint Augustine, the North African rhetorician from the 4th century who integrated some Roman philosophy with Christian theology (after a youth of not inconsiderable amounts of sex, drugs and rock n roll).

The altar table, the confessional, the Stations of the Cross – I liked them all.  But the church is mostly known for its large number of ex voto plaques, placed there by people through the centuries who wanted to thank Our Lady for having answered their prayers. Someone thanked her for keeping him safe during the Italian wars of the mid nineteenth century, someone else for the successful completion of their Ph D in 2006...

The baroque composer Lully (head of Louis XIV's personal violin orchestra -though he later annoyed Louis by sleeping with men) is buried here.


































































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