French Church of Tangier

Thus, Italy sponsored the construction of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, built in 1939–40 on the land of the former Abdelhafid Palace.

[2] The start of construction of the French Church in 1949, in turn, would stimulate the larger Spanish project which became the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Tangier, completed in 1961.

It was initially standing alone, together with three nearby official buildings of the International Zone bordering rue Washington (the Administration, later Amalat then Wilaya of the Tangier region, the courthouse, and the seat of the State Bank of Morocco); the surrounding blocks were only developed in the 1960s and 1970s.

[5] In December 1953, the completed church was dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption and Joan of Arc by the Spanish archbishop of Tangier and his French counterpart in Rabat, respectively Francisco Aldegunde and Amédée Lefevbre.

[6] Its architectural style is art deco, with monumental stained glass windows created by artist Charles Plessard from 1951 to 1958.