Thursday, August 1, 2013

Saint-Jacques-Saint-Christophe-de-la-Villette

Église Saint-Jacques-Saint-Christophe de la Villette, place de Bitche, Paris

Église Saint-Jacques-Saint-Christophe de la Villette
Place de Bitche
Quartier de la Villette, 19th arrondissement
Paris, July 2005

In Paris, a number of buildings (churches, chapels, hospitals) dedicated to the Apostle have been built since the 11th century. His worship was encouraged by the fact that the road to Santiago de Compostela for pilgrims from Northern and Eastern Europe passed through there. In the Middle Ages, this Saint’s popularity was such that his feast day (25 July) was celebrated in the capital. Few of these buildings can still be seen today. Those which remain include the parish churches of Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas and Saint-Jacques-Saint-Christophe-de-la-Villette, built in the 17th and 19th centuries respectively, when the worship of Saint James was already decreasing in popularity. (On the trail of Saint Jacques, Mairie de Paris)

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