The North Portal

The pretender to the throne of Portugal, Dom Antonio, gave the order to erect a beautiful church in Renaissance style with basket-handle arches, pilasters, fluted columns, decorated capitals, etc. This church was completed in 1603.

The main facade of the church

When Cardinal Richelieu bought in 1633 the most beautiful castle of Rueil, the Château du Val, he ordered his chief architect, Jacques Lemercier to add a pediment to the church worthy of its time which entered into baroque classicism.

Stained glass window of the Virgin

We are in front of the stained glass window in the north transept, Mary’s usual place, the culmination of the Old Testament and the link with the New. The stained glass window can be read from the top and the first five scenes present Mary’s childhood, mostly based on the proto-Gospel of James, a second-century apocrypha that is freely inspired by the book of Samuel among others.

Stained glass window of the Acts of the Apostles

We are in the south transept, on the side of the light. It is the stained glass window of the Acts, of the apostles, the contagion of the good news in the Roman Empire, with two main actors, Peter and Paul.

The stained glass window of Saint Genevieve

Before leaving the church, above Notre-Dame de Lourdes, you can admire the large stained glass window of Sainte-Geneviève, born in Nanterre around the year 422, and patron saint of the diocese and of Paris.

The stained glass window of the Baptism of Christ

As you enter the church on the left, just above the baptismal fonts, the large window of the baptism of Christ reminds us that thanks to Jesus, all men can become beloved children of the eternal father.

The stained glass windows of works of mercy

When you walk through each aisle, to the right or left of the nave, there are the 14 works of mercy according to the tradition of the Middle Ages or the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Film : Œuvres de miséricorde

Josephine’s tomb

In 1814, three days after his death at Malmaison, on June 2, Jo was buried in the church. In her burial act, the priest made her 5 years younger, she continued to keep her title of empress, after her divorce from Napoleon Bonaparte.

The cenotaph of Queen Hortense

At the end of 1837, the body of Queen Hortense arrived, who died on October 5 in Arenenberg. The funeral convoy arrives on November 19. On January 11, the ceremony took place with great fanfare. In 1846, the monument that Louis Bonaparte had requested from Lorenzo Bartolini was officially inaugurated.

The bas-relief of the descent from the cross

In 1828, Mr. Hagermann demolished the chapel which existed within the Château de la Malmaison, and donated the bas-relief of the altar to the church of Rueil. This bas-relief was purchased by Napoleon in 1805 for the church altar.

The Organ Case and Its History

The organ case was built in 1496. It comes from the organ of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy. It was the sculptor and architect Baccio d’Agnolo, known as Baglione, who was responsible for it.
This gilded carved wooden work is decorated with shields, horns of plenty, garlands and sunflowers.

The Cavaillé-Coll’s organ

To house the case coming from Florence, Emperor Napoleon III, grandson of Josephine, commissioned a new organ from one of the most prized organ builders of the time, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.