The American Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (formally, the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity) welcomes locals and visitors at 23 Avenue George V in Paris’s 8th arrondissement, one of the city’s most glamorous addresses. To its left, a few doors down: the legendary Four Seasons George V with its flower-decked courtyard. To its right: the Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe.
Tucked among the couture houses and palace hotels, rising 85 meters into the Parisian sky, stands this magnificent neo-Gothic cathedral.
The story of this one-of-a-kind sanctuary begins in the 1830s, when American Episcopalian expats began gathering for worship in borrowed rooms in Paris — including, famously, the garden pavilion of the Hôtel de Matignon (now the official residence of the French Prime Minister). A permanent parish was established in 1859, a first church consecrated on Rue Bayard in 1864, and by the 1870s, it was clear that the American community in Paris had outgrown its home.
Enter George Edmund Street, one of Victorian England’s most celebrated architects. Street designed London’s Royal Courts of Justice and the current church in his hallmark Victorian Gothic Revival style, creating what remains the finest and most complete example of that movement on the entire European continent. Street died in 1881, before the plans were finalized; his son, Arthur, and colleague, Arthur Blomfield, completed the work. The Cathedral was consecrated on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1886 — the very same day the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor.
Elevated to cathedral status in 1922, it became the seat of the Bishop in Charge for the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, a role it still holds. It is listed on the French register of Historic Monuments. During World War II, the German military chaplaincy took it over; after Liberation, it was reclaimed and restored. A Cloister on the grounds serves as a solemn memorial to American soldiers and civilians lost in the First World War, dedicated in 1923 in the presence of Marshal Foch and President Poincaré.
A Spiritual Sanctuary in Paris’ Golden Triangle
When you enter through the imposing doors of the American Cathedral, and the busy city outside instantly disappears. The Cathedral’s great nave soars 18 meters, 60 feet, overhead: its oak vaulting filtered through the glow of 42 stained glass windows designed by English glassmaker James Bell on the theme of the Te Deum. They are the only windows of their kind in France. Light moves through them differently at every hour, painting the marble columns in shifting hues of gold, blue, and deep crimson.
Sixteen massive marble columns separate the central nave from two lateral naves. Above the choir and altar, stone arches show ribbed vaulting — the visual language of Gothic cathedrals distilled into Street’s confident Victorian hand. Two side chapels flank the high altar: the Martyrs’ Chapel and the Chapel of St. Paul the Traveler.
The Cathedral seats approximately 600 and is equally well-suited to worship, but also to concerts, which explains why Les Arts George V, the Cathedral’s in-house booking organization, keeps the performance calendar consistently full. The Händel Messiah sing-along each December is a beloved Paris institution.
Join AmCat’s Sunday Worship in Persons & Online
If you’re in Paris, the Sunday Eucharist at 11 am is open to all, but you can also join the worship online via the American Cathedral’s youtube channel, or, alternatively their Facebook account.
For more information and updates, we recommend signing up for the American Cathedral’s weekly newsletter. On Instagram, there are two accounts: AmcatParis and AmCatMusic.