The Sainte-Elisabeth Church was the ancient chapel of a former convent of the Saint Francois nuns called the Daughters of Sainte-Elisabeth. Queen Marie de Medicis (wife of Henri IV) laid the first stone before her death and the Bishop’s assistant finally consecrated the church in 1648. Used as a warehouse under the Revolution, it was eventually returned to the nun’s Order.In 1829, the
chapel was separated from the main church with the opening of the rue de Turbigo during the Second Empire. A century later, it became that of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller. (It was on rue du Temple, only a couple 
blocks from my apartment.)One hundred carved wood bas-reliefs representing Biblical scenes adorn the ambulatory; a mural, on a gold background, depicting the glorification of Sainte Elisabeth decorates the dome. The French artist, Jean Alaux (known as “the Roman” for the many years he spent in Rome) painted it.
