Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃t‿etjɛn dy mɔ̃]) is a church in Paris, France, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement, near the Panthéon.

During the Gallo-Roman era, the Parisii tribe of Lutetia gradually settled a hill on the left bank of the Seine, called Mount Lucotecius.

In the 6th century, Clovis, the King of the Franks, built a basilica at the top of the hill, dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul.

[1] In 1222, as the population of the neighbourhood grew, and particularly to serve the masters and students of the new College of Sorbonne, Pope Honorius III authorized the establishment of an autonomous church, which was devoted this time to St Etienne, or Saint Stephen.

The church was finally consecrated on 25 February 1626 by Jean-François de Gondi, first archbishop of Paris; the ornate carved pulpit was installed in 1651.

It was the starting point of an annual procession, carrying the shrine of Saint Genevieve to Notre Dame de Paris, and back.

The remains of a number of prominent scientists and artists were interred there, including Pierre Perrault, the painter Eustache Le Sueur and Blaise Pascal.

In 1744, King Louis XV decided to replace the nearby abbey with an even larger church, which, after many modifications and changes of purpose, eventually became the Panthéon.

The sculpture, decoration and stained glass suffered extensive damage, and many church treasures and relics disappeared.

[2] Under the Second Empire of Napoleon III, the church was extensively restored by the Paris city architect Victor Baltard between 1865 and 1868.

Building works included:[3] The west front or façade of the church, in the Renaissance style and in the form of an elongated pyramid of three levels, was built in 1610 following the plan of Charles Guerin.

The lowest level is covered with sculpture, and is topped by a triangular classical fronton, with a bas-relief depicting the Resurrection of Christ.

The central feature of the level above is a Gothic rose window, under a curvilinear fronton, decorated with sculpture depicting the coat of arms of France and those of the old Abbey.

The collateral aisles on either side of the nave and choir are unusually high, and have large windows, filling the church with light.

They were very common during the Middle Ages, but were largely abolished in the 17th and 18th centuries under a decree of the Council of Trent (1545–1563) which aimed at making the ceremonies in the choir more visible to the ordinary parishioners in the nave.

[6] The church is characterized by its curved axis of the nave to the transept, the rood screen (the sole surviving example in Paris)[5] of finely carved stone by Father Biard (1545), his chair designed by Laurent de La Hyre and sculpted by Claude Lestocart and its organ case (1631) (the oldest in the capital).

Overlooking the tomb is a ciborium, an ornamental work featuring statues of the wise and foolish virgins, representing those faithful versus those who reject the church.

Twelve of the original windows survived the Revolution and can be seen today, including the "Adoration of the Holy Sacrament" and the "Mystic Wine-Press".

Late in the French Revolution, the bodies of Jean-Paul Marat, after he was killed by Charlotte Corday, and Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau (1795) were removed from the Panthéon, where they had been placed as revolutionary heroes, and kept in the chapel until they were later buried in ordinary graves.

In the center, a ship is floating atop a wooden cross, which protects it from storms, illustrated by surrounding evil faces.

It depicts a story told in the Book of Numbers 21-19, telling how Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole.

In the background of the window center, a barrel of the blood, accompanied by an angel, is being pulled by a lion, an ox and an eagle, the symbols of the Apostles Saints Luke, Mark and John.

[9] Window Eleven has one 17th century section, at the top, depicting the origin of Eucharist, showing the blessing of wine and bread, and the Prophet Abraham returning home in triumph.

These include: The Prebytere was built next to the church in about 1725 as the private residence of Louis, Duke of Orleans, son of the Regent of France.