Church of St. Eloi, Roissy-en-France

Saint-Eloi Church is a Catholic parish church located in Roissy-en-France, France. Between 1174 and the end of the Ancien Régime, Roissy was a priory-cure of the Saint-Victor de Paris abbey. Part of the walls of the nave and the bell tower may date back to the Middle Ages, but the lack of character of these parts makes it impossible to affirm this, and a date in the 17th or 18th century is more likely: indeed, there are no elements of modenature or monumental sculpture except for the western portal, which is influenced by Classicism. The nave has no aisles and is not vaulted, but is impressive in its size. However, only the choir and its side aisles are of real architectural interest, both for their plan and the quality of the sculpted decoration in the Renaissance style. The date of 1574, which can be read on a buttress, probably indicates completion, but the circumstances of the construction are not known, and the question of attribution to an architect remains unresolved. In the central nave of the choir, the Ionic and Corinthian orders are superimposed, and have been treated with great freedom of interpretation of the ancient model. The first and third bays are only half the depth of the second bay, which avoids monotony. The large arcades, the double arches and the inscription arches of the vaults are always pointed arches, except in the second bay, and the ribbed vaulting itself also recalls Gothic architecture. There are no high windows in the central nave, but the windows in the side aisles and the high bays in the apse provide sufficient light. On the outside, the chevet is characterized by the harmony of its volumes and its rounded forms: quarter-circles for the side aisles, and a hemicycle for the apse of the central vessel. Inside, however, the chevet is cut into sections. The church of St. Eloi was classified as a historical monument by decree of October 13, 1942, but its interior and exterior restoration is undertaken only from the late twentieth century, and was completed in spring 2014. Masses are celebrated in the church of Saint-Eloi on Thursday and Saturday evenings.