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cardinal’s actions during the years leading up to his support, however, reveals that Richelieu, like
the Jesuits, was honoring the king.
Facing the rue Saint-Antoine, the façade of Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites as designed by
François Derand consists of a three-storey, centrally projecting section flanked by two-storey
recessed sides, originally ornamented with rich sculpture and reliefs (fig. 33). 127 Above the
ground floor, raised on a podium and articulated with three monumental entryways, is an
entablature, which in the seventeenth century was adorned with fleurs-de-lis, letter Ls
surmounted with crowns, and martyrs’ palms. At its center was a marble plaque with a Latin
inscription in gold letters stating: “King Louis XIII built this basilica for King Saint Louis:
Cardinal Armandus, Duke of Richelieu, built the façade in 1634.” 128 Immediately above the text
was a segmented pediment containing an escutcheon with three chevrons, the arms of Richelieu.
The upper two levels prepare the viewer for the themes found in the interior, the dual
devotion to the Society of Jesus and to French kingship. At the center of the second story was an
elliptical rose window adorned with the order’s monogram, which was replaced with a clock in
the early nineteenth century. 129 Niches in the façade’s outer bays originally held statues of St.
Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. 130 The uppermost tier of the façade focused on France. At its
center was a statue of St. Louis with the arms of France and Navarre and the crown of France
above in a triangular pediment. 131 Reinforcing the royal imagery were crowned letter Ls placed
between the paired Corinthian columns that framed the central niche.
The façade certainly honored Richelieu. With gold text stating that he paid for the façade
and his family arms immediately above the entrance, the cardinal ensured that his contributions
to the building were unmistakable. His support of the building marked the emergence of his
interest in architecture, demonstrated by the creation over the next ten years of the Palais
Cardinal in Paris and the town of Richelieu in addition to the rebuilding of the Sorbonne chapel
and the remodeling of several châteaux. 132 As Hilary Ballon states, Richelieu believed that the
glory of the state could reveal itself through architecture. 133 While the cardinal’s involvement
with the façade was boldly displayed above the main entrance, Louis XIII’s role as the builder of
the church took the primary place of importance as the first part of the inscription makes clear.
The institution of the monarchy is given further consequence with the entablature covered with
royal symbols and the upper-most storey dedicated to St. Louis. When viewed in conjunction
with the medals placed in the church’s foundation stone, the statue of the saint at the pinnacle of
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