Louis XIII ordered the church, laid its first stone in 1627 and gave financial aid. Étienne Martellange, a Jesuit priest, drew the initial plans, and François Derand, also a Jesuit, designed the facade. It was built from 1627 to 1641, and Cardinal Richelieu celebrated the first mass on May 9, 1641. It replaced a smaller Jesuit chapel dedicated to Louis IX.
The article says it was the first church in Paris to break entirely from Gothic style, using Jesuit Baroque. The plan was inspired by the Gesù in Rome, with French additions such as long transepts. The dome served as a model for those of Les Invalides and Val-de-Grâce. The glass is mostly white, to admit maximum light.
The Jesuits were expelled in 1762, and the church was closed from 1792 to 1802. It is now a parish church in the Marais.
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