This distinctive Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Church is located behind the Panthéon in the Latin Quarter, adjacent to the famous Lycée Henri IV and directly opposite the Sainte-Geneviève Library. It is one of Paris's most unique churches in both exterior form and style. Originally a monastery rebuilt between 1492 and 1622, it combines Gothic and Renaissance styles. Its extraordinary original facade features three overlapping gables, a central circular rose stained-glass window, an elegant oval window at the top, and a distinctive Renaissance-style bell tower at the rear.
The church honors Paris's patron saint, Sainte-Geneviève. The interior retains its high, wide Gothic structure supported by two rows of tall columns. The dignified altar is backed by a rare spiral staircase spanning the sanctuary, with intricate Renaissance-style carvings decorating the space. Beneath the pillars of the Virgin Mary chapel lie the remains of French literary giants Blaise Pascal (buried here in 1662) and Jean Racine (resting here since 1711). Behind the church lies the former monastery cemetery, where orator Mirabeau and revolutionary Marat were buried after their bodies were moved from the Panthéon during Robespierre's rule. Notably, a series of magnificent stained-glass windows depicting the Old Testament (works from the 16th–17th centuries) covers the entire wall, considered among the finest in Paris.
