As a local business rooted in the community and the life of central London, Choosing Keeping is proud to partner with Notre Dame de France through its charity outreach programme. By covering all production costs of a special fundraising card, each £15 purchase is donated in full to the Sandwich Service Fund, supporting people experiencing homelessness and in vulnerable housing situations.
Just off Leicester Square stands Notre Dame de France, a place where art and community come together in the heart of London. Since 1993, volunteers at the church have gathered every Saturday to prepare and share fresh sandwiches and warm meals with people experiencing homelessness. In recent years, rough sleeping in London has risen by more than 25%, with Westminster recording some of the highest levels of homelessness in the UK, a reminder of the urgent need for compassion and practical help at a local level.
At Notre Dame de France, these acts of service unfold beneath a work of art that speaks to that same humanity. Within this modern, circular church lies a rare artistic treasure: a secco painted by Jean Cocteau between 3 and 11 November 1959. Created at the invitation of the Marist Fathers, it is Cocteau’s only mural outside France and extends across three walls of the chapel.
The mural cycle consists of three scenes - the Annunciation, the Crucifixion, and the Assumption - each centred on the Virgin. Cocteau was invited to undertake the work by René Varin, cultural attaché at the French Embassy, following the success of the artist’s earlier chapel at Villefranche-sur-Mer. The Marist Fathers hesitated because Cocteau was not a practising Catholic, and they questioned whether a non-believer should be entrusted with religious imagery; however, after consultation and review of his preparatory drawings, the project was approved. Much of the technical preparation was carried out by the artisan-painter Jean Triquenot and his son, with Cocteau completing the final drawing and colour during two short visits: one week in November 1959 and a brief return in May 1960. Despite fragile health, he finished the scheme in a matter of days, working directly onto the lightly pre-drawn walls with his characteristic clear line and restrained palette.
In the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel bows toward Mary over a vase of lilies, a traditional symbol of purity. The Crucifixion is unusually composed, showing only Christ’s feet and placing emphasis on the surrounding witnesses. The Assumption lifts Mary in a sweep of line and soft colour. Cocteau described fresco painting as work requiring calm and concentration, and the chapel reflects this: the scenes are deliberately flattened, with adjusted proportions creating a contemplative space. He signed the completed work Delineavit, Dedicavit, Donavit (“he drew, dedicated and gave”), marking the decoration explicitly as a gift.
These murals remind us that life moves in cycles of joy and suffering, loss and renewal. Taking inspiration from this extraordinary, often-unseen artwork, Choosing Keeping has designed a bespoke charity Christmas card that integrates elements from Cocteau’s fresco into the shop’s signature lace paper design with a sticker in the shape of the mural's rose to seal the envelope. The card can be sent to a friend to mark a donation made in their name, or kept as a personal prayer card.
Cards can be purchased exclusively at the church or at Choosing Keeping, 21 Tower Street WC2H 9NS, or online at choosingkeeping.com.
Notre Dame de France is a registered charity (No. 1177995), recognised by the Charity Commission. It is a parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster run by the Marist Fathers and a member of the Westminster Faith and Volunteer Network.
Cocteau’s work on the chapel, further historical context can be found here (in French) https://cahiersjeancocteau.com/articles/cocteau-et-la-chapelle-notre-dame-de-france-a-londres/
