The Sorbonne Chapel soon to be restored thanks to support from the World Monuments Fund

Many places around the world need to be safeguarded for the treasure and national heritage they represent, but due to climate disruption, conflict or lack of resources, they are deteriorating over the years. On Wednesday January 15, the World Monuments Fund (WMF), the leading international NGO dedicated to protecting exceptional sites since 1996, presented its Watch 2025, a list of new monuments to support, including one located in Paris, in the heart of La Sorbonne University.

The Sorbonne's Chapelle Sainte-Ursule, which has been closed for almost 25 years, will benefit from this support, with the aim of raising funds and beginning its restoration, in order to make it accessible to the general public once again. Built at the request of Cardinal de Richelieu by Jacques Lemercier between 1634 and 1648, and classified as a historic monument since 1887, it was selected by a jury after being proposed by the Chancellerie des Universités de Paris and the city.

These include masterpieces such as the monumental paintings of the medallions in the dome by Philippe de Champaigne, the tomb of Cardinal de Richelieu sculpted by François Girardon in 1694 - the first element to be restored - and a crypt paying tribute to the high school students and teachers martyred in the Resistance.

Heavily impacted by the storm of 1999, it was closed and repaired until 2008 on its roof and facades to put an end to infiltration and limit breakage, but the interior, which has suffered the passage of time, remains to be restored, with a net under the dome and clearly visible damp stains on the ceiling. Ultimately, the university hopes to bring the chapel back to life with a cultural program.

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For the time being, this chapel, with one of the capital's first domes, is only open on the occasion of the Journées du Patrimoine. Previous WMF projects in the Paris region include theNotre-Dame-de-Lorette church, the Désert de Retz, theOpéra comique and the Potager du Roi.

For the association, which enables conservation programs to be implemented and financial support to be obtained, the task now is to"raise funds from companies and donors" alongside the City of Paris, i.e."several million euros", for a reopening in a few years' time.

Just a little more patience before the doors of the chapel "open again towards the Place de la Sorbonne, so that the general public can enter freely and admire the works", as Karen Taïeb, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of heritage, pointed out at the WMF press conference. An entire generation of students and the curious have never been able to enjoy it!