The French Church of Bucharest (Biserica Franceză din București), officially the French Church of the Sacred Heart (Biserica Franceză Sacré-Cœur) is a Roman Catholic church in Bucharest.
The story of the church goes back to the early 20th century when Prince Vladimir Ghika (born in 1873 in Constantinople) brought the sisters of the Saint Vincent de Paul charity from Thessaloniki to Bucharest. They founded the first free dispensary for the poor and created an ambulant service for the victims of cholera and injured soldiers during the Balkan War and the First World War.
In 1930, the Daughters of the Charity built the parish church next to the sanatorium. The French Church was built in an eclectic basilica style with three naves and a small vestibule. The church also has some floral Art Nouveau motifs in its stained glass windows. On top of the small tower on the roof, you can see a cross and a Gallic rooster.
In 1957, under Communist rule, the church was closed, and all charitable activities had to be suspended. After the fall of Communism, the church was reopened in 1991 and has since served the French speaking community, although services in Romanian and other languages have been held as well. In 2004 a statue of Vladimir Ghika, who died as a political prisoner in 1954, was placed on the square next to the church.
