Notre-Dame du Mont district

The church of Notre-Dame du Mont

The church of Notre-Dame du Mont stands in the square of the same name, on the site of the former 6th-century priory, which was once Marseille’s main place of pilgrimage, where sailors who had survived shipwrecks came to make offerings. Pilgrims then went on to Notre-Dame de la Garde. The church of Notre-Dame du Mont de Rome was rebuilt in a neoclassical style to accommodate the development of the district. The foundation stone was laid in 1824 and the inauguration took place a year later.

Inside, it houses various works of art from the former convent of the Minimes, destroyed during the Revolution, including the Virgin and Child surrounded by Saint François de Paule and Saint François de Sales by Michel Serre, The Flight into Egypt, The Workshop of Nazareth, The Adoration of the Shepherds and The Marriage of the Virgin by Barthélémy Chasse, and Saint Loup venant demander la paix àAttila (coming to ask peace to Attila )  by Auguste Hyacinthe Debay. The church’s furnishings and decor are also well worth a visit: murals, woodwork, statues, stained glass windows, etc.

The church of Notre-Dame du Mont is also famous for having welcomed Frédéric Chopin, who played the organ for the funeral of one of his friends, Adolphe Nourrit, in 1839. The instrument was sold and a new organ was installed in the church in 1847, designed by the organ builder Alexandre Ducroquet. The organ underwent a number of restorations and transformations before being protected as a Historical Monument. A commemorative plaque on the front of the church commemorates this event.