Église Saint-Augustin

In Église Saint-Augustin, a Catholic church begun in 1860 and completed in 1871, Victor Baltard brought a new kind of construction to Paris. It was the first church in the city to pair a cast-iron frame—kept fully visible—with stone, making the structure itself part of the appearance. Baltard designed it as an anchor for Boulevard Malesherbes during Haussmann’s renovation under Napoleon III, intended to balance the nearby Church of La Madeleine and to be visible from the Arc de Triomphe toward the avenue de Friedland. What also gave Saint-Augustin national resonance came later: in 1886, it was the site of Charles de Foucauld’s conversion to Catholicism, and a chapel dedicated to him preserves the confessional where he returned to the Church. His canonisation followed on 15 May 2022, bringing renewed attention to that preserved moment. …

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