Église Saint-Pierre d'Arène is a church building in Nice whose origins date to 1762, when priest Don Massot created a chapel dedicated to Saint Peter near the beach on the present Promenade des Anglais. Originally named Chiesa San Pietro d'arena in the Nice diocese of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church, it was consecrated in 1814 by Bishop Jean-Baptiste Colonna d'Istria during the Sardinian restoration of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. The chapel was open for worship and sacraments and initially hosted monarchist families exiled in Italy during the revolutionary period.
An enlargement project later led to the current church building, which was inaugurated before it was fully finished. In its present form, the church contains six chapels and one reliquary. The chapels are dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Anthony of Padua, Saint Expedit, John the Baptist, Padre Pio, and Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, followed by a chapel of adoration dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Between 2012 and 2017, major works in the basement created the Jorge François solidarity space, which includes a solidarity restaurant, an art exhibition gallery, and a theater.
Nearby Objects
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Musée Masséna 160 m away -
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Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée 500 m away -
Église reformée de Nice 650 m away -
Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret 700 m away
From Chapel to Parish Church
In 1762, priest Don Massot created a chapel dedicated to Saint Peter near the beach on what is now the Promenade des Anglais. It was originally called Chiesa San Pietro d'arena in the Nice diocese of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church. During the Sardinian restoration of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, the chapel was consecrated in 1814 by Bishop Jean-Baptiste Colonna d'Istria of the Nice diocese. The chapel was open for worship and sacraments, and it first welcomed monarchist families exiled in Italy during the revolutionary period.
At an unspecified date, an enlargement project began and resulted in the present church building. The church was inaugurated before it was fully finished. Between 2012 and 2017, major works were carried out in the basement to create the Jorge François solidarity space, which includes a solidarity restaurant for people in need, an art exhibition gallery, and a theater. The church also became the scene of a violent attack at an unspecified date, when priest Krzyzstof Rudzinski and nun Sister Marie-Claude were stabbed. The suspect was a 31-year-old man known to the parish, previously institutionalized several times, and described as intending to assassinate French President Emmanuel Macron and as a sympathizer of the National Rally party.
Chapels and Reliquary
In its current form, the church presents six chapels and one reliquary. The chapels are arranged with the first chapel at the east and the fourth chapel at the west. The first chapel is dedicated to Saint Peter, the first bishop of Rome. The second is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, described as a Franciscan missionary. The third chapel is dedicated to Saint Expedit and contains the icon of Saint Charbel Makhlouf. The fourth chapel is dedicated to John the Baptist. The fifth chapel is dedicated to Padre Pio, an Italian priest canonized in 2002. The sixth chapel is dedicated to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and contains a statue of Louise de Marillac. After these six saint chapels, there is a chapel of adoration dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
The reliquary contains relics of six persons, including two popes, John Paul II and John XXIII. It also contains relics of Charles de Habsbourg-Lorraine, called Archduke Charles of Austria, the Polish priest Jerzy Popieluszko, assassinated in 1984, Father Jacques Hamel, assassinated in 2016 and declared a martyr, and the Lebanese thaumaturge Saint Charbel Makhlouf.
Since 2001, the parish priest has been Father Gil Florini, who is also dean of Nice-centre and rector of the Utelle sanctuary. He is also described as a singer, entrepreneur, horse breeder, creator of pastis de Nice, and author of the 2017 book Ce qu'un cure ne peut pas dire.
Artistic Chaplaincy and Liturgical Role
The church's offices manage the priestly chaplaincy for artists on the Cote d'Azur. Since 2011, they have also organized the annual Messe des artistes on Ash Wednesday. In the same year, the offices appointed Reverend Father Yves-Marie Lequin of the Dominican order as chaplain of artists. These activities show a continuing liturgical role connected to the artistic community.