Église Saint-Jean l'Evangéliste

Église Saint-Jean l'Evangéliste is the Catholic parish church of Ray, a neighbourhood of Nice in the south of France. Its style and materials belong to the late twentieth century, unlike the older and more ornate churches elsewhere in the city. Ray itself has seen great change over the years, and the church serves both its spiritual and its social life.

The congregation once worshipped five hundred metres to the south, in the Sainte-Croix chapel near Fontaine-du-Temple. The chapel came down in 1969, and for almost a decade the area had no Catholic church of its own. Changing needs and the district's urban development plans spoke for a new build instead of a restoration. So the community waited out those years and opened its present church on 24 June 1978.

What greets you is a working parish rather than a monument. Mass and the sacraments follow their regular round, and community events give the building a life beyond worship. Half a kilometre north of the plot where its predecessor stood, the parish has held this ground since 1978.