Eglise Saint-Vincent de Paul

The church you are approaching stands on a site with a grim history. Before this neoclassical structure was built in the nineteenth century, the land hosted the Saint Lazare Priory, which functioned as a leper colony in the twelfth century. During the French Revolution, the priory was transformed into a prison. The facility became notorious as a place of confinement for various figures, including the social theorist Henri de Saint Simon and the playwright Pierre Beaumarchais.