The Church of St. Benoît (or St. Benedictine) was founded in 1427 by Benedictine monks from Genoa. Its original dedication was to the Virgin Mary and St. Benedict. It was located within the walls of Galata. In the 16th century, the ruins of an older cistern were still visible. In 1540, it became the chapel of the French ambassadors to the Sublime Porte. In 1583, it became a possession of the Jesuits. After a fire devastated the building in 1686, despite regulations against it a new dome was built for the church. Lazarists took over the church in 1783 following the dissolution of the Jesuit order in 1773. A fire severely damaged the building in 1865, after which the church was redesigned, with only the tower and the ground plan being preserved. Byzantine spolia can be found among the columns and capitals of its atrium. It is now the location of Lycée Saint Benoît, a prestigious French language high school.