Name of Monument:

Tunis Cathedral

Location:

Tunis, Tunisia

Date of Monument:

19th century

History:

The Cathédrale Saint-Vincent-de-Paul is the active Catholic cathedral of Tunis. It is located on Place de l'Indépendance at the crossroads between the Avenue Habib-Bourguiba (previously Jules-Ferry) and the Avenue de France (previously the French general residence). Built between 1893 and 1897, it is named after the Saint Vincent de Paul, the founder of the Lazaristes and the Filles de la Charité, who was kidnapped as a young priest and sold as a slave in Tunisia in the early 7th century. The Modus Vivendi, signed in 1964 between independent Tunisia and the Vatican, ensured the cathedral became the property of the Roman Catholic Church. Today, the cathedral receives a great number of visitors and tourists, as well as important religious figures such as the Pope John Paul II in 1998.

Description:

This cathedral was built on land given to the Christian community by the Bey of Tunis, and replaced the Église Sainte-Croix. The first stone was laid by Cardinal Lavigerie on the 7 November 1881, just after the establishment of French Protectorate. It was built in an austere Romano-Byzantine style with neo-classical influences, reflecting the monumental and majestic image of itself France presented to both its protégés and its rival powers. It contains huge statues of Christ, monumental vaults, stained-glass windows, tapestry, and marble columns. The organ inside the cathedral, built in 1921 by an expert from Paris and inaugurated on 28 October 1923, is considered to be the most beautiful organ in the African continent.

Citation of this web page:

Saloua Khadhar Zangar "Tunis Cathedral" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2026.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monuments;AWE;tn;24;en

Prepared by: Saloua Khadhar Zangar
Translation by: Flaminia Baldwin

MWNF Working Number: TN 024