Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
Encyclopedia
Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is a church in Paris
, France
, located on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève
in the Ve arrondissement, near the Panthéon
. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève
, the patron saint of Paris.
The church also contains the tombs of Blaise Pascal
and Jean Racine
. Jean-Paul Marat
is buried in the church's cemetery.
The sculpted tympanum
, the The Stoning of Saint Stephen
, is the work of French sculptor Gabriel-Jules Thomas
.
Renowned organist, composer, and improviser Maurice Duruflé
held the post of Titular Organist at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont from 1929 until his death in 1986.
authorized the establishment of an autonomous church, which was devoted this time to St Etienne
, then the patron saint of the old cathedral of Paris.
Soon, the new building was overwhelmed by an increasingly dense population: the Sorbonne
and many colleges were located on the territory of the parish. It was enlarged in 1328, but a complete reconstruction became necessary from the fifteenth century. In 1492, the monks Génovéfains
donated a portion of their land for the construction of the new church.
This involved several steps. Under the direction of architect Stephen Viguier, the apse and the bell tower was sketched in 1494, the first two bells were cast in 1500. The choir of flamboyant
Gothic
, was completed in 1537 and the following year, it was the turn of the frame to be raised. The loft was built around 1530-1535.
In 1541, Guy
, Bishop of Megara, blessed the altars of the chapels of the apse
. The same year, the parish awarded contracts for the windows and statues from Parisian artisans. The nave, from the Renaissance period, was not hunched before 1584. The first stone of the facade was laid in 1610 by Marguerite de Valois
, who had agreed to do so in a personal donation of 3000 pounds.
The church was dedicated on February 25, 1626 by Jean-François de Gondi
, first archbishop of Paris
, Cardinal de Retz's uncle. Nevertheless, developments continued: in 1636, the organ was installed, the work of Pierre Pescheur.
In 1651, a new pulpit was installed. It was also adjusted for the local wardens and housing for the priests.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont enjoyed great prestige. It was the scene of great processions where the shrine of Sainte-Genevieve went to Notre Dame and subsequently returned to his church. It also housed the remains of Pierre Perrault
, the father of the author of Tales
, the painter Eustache Le Sueur
and Blaise Pascal. Those of Racine and Isaac de Sacy Lemaistre were also transferred in 1711 from Port-Royal in Saint-Etienne.
During the French Revolution, the church was first closed and then turned into a "Temple of Filial Piety." Catholic
worship was restored in 1801, benefiting from the Concordat
. The following year, the demolition of the abbey church of Sainte-Genevieve Abbey and the breakthrough Street Clovis made St. Stephen an independent building. Under the Second Empire, the church was restored by Victor Baltard
: the front was raised and the statues destroyed by the revolutionaries, were returned. Baltard also built the chapel of catechisms.
The nineteenth century was marked by many events. On January 10, 1805, Pope Pius VII
celebrated Mass
in the church. In 1833, Frederic Ozanam
, a parishioner of St. Stephen, founded with friends the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. On January 3, 1857, Bishop Sibur, was assassinated with cries of "Down with the goddesses!" Prohibited by the priest Jean-Louis Verger, opposed to the dogma
of the Immaculate Conception
. A plaque at the entrance to the nave marks the grave where the prelate, who was to inaugurate the novena of St. Genevieve. The occultist Eliphas Levi
was indirectly involved in this tragic event.
On August 23, 1997, Pope John Paul II
celebrated Mass there during the visit to Paris on the occasion of World Youth Day
.
to the transept, the choir screen of finely carved stone by Father Biard (1545) (the latter existing in Paris), his chair designed by Laurent de La Hyre
and sculpted by Claude Lestocart and its organ case (1631) (the oldest in the capital). The church also contains the shrine
containing the relics of St. Genevieve until 1793 (when they were thrown in the sewer), the tomb of Blaise de Vigenere
, of Blaise Pascal
, of Racine
, and Mg Sibour.
Huysmans
described it in the Connecting (1895) as one of the most beautiful churches in Paris.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, located on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève
Montagne Sainte-Geneviève
The Montagne Sainte-Geneviève is a hill on the left Bank of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.On the top of the Montagne, one can visit the Panthéon or the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, which is often full of students from La Sorbonne and other nearby universities...
in the Ve arrondissement, near the Panthéon
Panthéon, Paris
The Panthéon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens...
. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève
Genevieve
St Genevieve , in Latin Sancta Genovefa, from Germanic keno and wefa , is the patron saint of Paris in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition...
, the patron saint of Paris.
The church also contains the tombs of Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
and Jean Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
. Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat , born in the Principality of Neuchâtel, was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution...
is buried in the church's cemetery.
The sculpted tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
, the The Stoning of Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
, is the work of French sculptor Gabriel-Jules Thomas
Gabriel Thomas
Gabriel-Jules Thomas was a French sculptor, born in Paris.Thomas attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and in 1848 he won the Prix de Rome in the sculpture category with his Philoctète partant pour le siège de Troie in plaster...
.
Renowned organist, composer, and improviser Maurice Duruflé
Maurice Duruflé
Maurice Duruflé was a French composer, organist, and pedagogue.Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure. In 1912, he became chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School, where he studied piano and organ with Jules Haelling...
held the post of Titular Organist at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont from 1929 until his death in 1986.
History
The church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont originated in the abbey of Sainte-Genevieve, where the eponymous saint had been buried in the sixth century. Devoted to the Virgin Mary, then to St. John the Apostle, the place was too small to accommodate all the faithful. In 1222, Pope Honorius IIIPope Honorius III
Pope Honorius III , previously known as Cencio Savelli, was Pope from 1216 to 1227.-Early work:He was born in Rome as son of Aimerico...
authorized the establishment of an autonomous church, which was devoted this time to St Etienne
Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
, then the patron saint of the old cathedral of Paris.
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
and many colleges were located on the territory of the parish. It was enlarged in 1328, but a complete reconstruction became necessary from the fifteenth century. In 1492, the monks Génovéfains
Congregation of France
The congregation of France is a French religious order that observes the rule of St. Augustine. Its members are Génovéfains ; they wear a white dress and a ratchet and a black cloak outside the convent....
donated a portion of their land for the construction of the new church.
This involved several steps. Under the direction of architect Stephen Viguier, the apse and the bell tower was sketched in 1494, the first two bells were cast in 1500. The choir of flamboyant
Flamboyant
Flamboyant is the name given to a florid style of late Gothic architecture in vogue in France from the 14th to the early 16th century, a version of which spread to Spain and Portugal during the 15th century; the equivalent stylistic period in English architecture is called the Decorated Style, and...
Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, was completed in 1537 and the following year, it was the turn of the frame to be raised. The loft was built around 1530-1535.
In 1541, Guy
Guy
Guy or guys may refer to:* Guy * Guy, an effigy burned on bonfire night...
, Bishop of Megara, blessed the altars of the chapels of the apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
. The same year, the parish awarded contracts for the windows and statues from Parisian artisans. The nave, from the Renaissance period, was not hunched before 1584. The first stone of the facade was laid in 1610 by Marguerite de Valois
Marguerite de Valois
Margaret of Valois was Queen of France and of Navarre during the late sixteenth century...
, who had agreed to do so in a personal donation of 3000 pounds.
The church was dedicated on February 25, 1626 by Jean-François de Gondi
Jean-François de Gondi
Jean-François de Gondi was the first archbishop of Paris, from 1622 to 1654.He was the son of Albert de Gondi and Claude Catherine de Clermont. He was a member of the Gondi family, which had held the bishopric of Paris for nearly a century, and would continue to do so after him. Jean-François...
, first archbishop of Paris
Archbishop of Paris
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...
, Cardinal de Retz's uncle. Nevertheless, developments continued: in 1636, the organ was installed, the work of Pierre Pescheur.
In 1651, a new pulpit was installed. It was also adjusted for the local wardens and housing for the priests.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the church of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont enjoyed great prestige. It was the scene of great processions where the shrine of Sainte-Genevieve went to Notre Dame and subsequently returned to his church. It also housed the remains of Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada although largely unknown outside of Québec...
, the father of the author of Tales
Tales
Tales can refer to:*the plural of tale*Tales , a series of role-playing games*Tales , an album by Marcus Miller*Tales of Silversleeve, an album by Cathy Davey*Tales of the Unexpected , an Anglia television series...
, the painter Eustache Le Sueur
Eustache Le Sueur
Eustache Le Sueur or Lesueur , one of the founders of the French Academy of Painting, was born in Paris, where he passed his whole life....
and Blaise Pascal. Those of Racine and Isaac de Sacy Lemaistre were also transferred in 1711 from Port-Royal in Saint-Etienne.
During the French Revolution, the church was first closed and then turned into a "Temple of Filial Piety." Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
worship was restored in 1801, benefiting from the Concordat
Concordat
A concordat is an agreement between the Holy See of the Catholic Church and a sovereign state on religious matters. Legally, they are international treaties. They often includes both recognition and privileges for the Catholic Church in a particular country...
. The following year, the demolition of the abbey church of Sainte-Genevieve Abbey and the breakthrough Street Clovis made St. Stephen an independent building. Under the Second Empire, the church was restored by Victor Baltard
Victor Baltard
Victor Baltard , French architect, who was born in Paris, son of architect Louis Baltard.Until 1833, Baltard studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he garnered the Prix de Rome for designing a military school in 1833...
: the front was raised and the statues destroyed by the revolutionaries, were returned. Baltard also built the chapel of catechisms.
The nineteenth century was marked by many events. On January 10, 1805, Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...
celebrated Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
in the church. In 1833, Frederic Ozanam
Frédéric Ozanam
Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam was a French scholar. He founded with fellow students the Conference of Charity, later known as the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul...
, a parishioner of St. Stephen, founded with friends the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. On January 3, 1857, Bishop Sibur, was assassinated with cries of "Down with the goddesses!" Prohibited by the priest Jean-Louis Verger, opposed to the dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
. A plaque at the entrance to the nave marks the grave where the prelate, who was to inaugurate the novena of St. Genevieve. The occultist Eliphas Levi
Eliphas Levi
Eliphas Lévi, born Alphonse Louis Constant , was a French occult author and purported magician."Eliphas Lévi," the name under which he published his books, was his attempt to translate or transliterate his given names "Alphonse Louis" into Hebrew although he was not Jewish.His second wife was...
was indirectly involved in this tragic event.
On August 23, 1997, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
celebrated Mass there during the visit to Paris on the occasion of World Youth Day
World Youth Day
World Youth Day is a youth-oriented Catholic Church event. While the event itself celebrates the Catholic faith, the invitation to attend extends to all youth, regardless of religious convictions....
.
Timeline
- 6th century - first chapel was formed from the cryptCryptIn architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
of St. Geneviève Abbey - 13th century - separate church built on the north side of chapel
- 1491 - bell tower was built
- 1537 - chancel was built
- 1545 - gallery was built (see image of church interior)
- 1580 - vaults of the nave and the transept were built
- 1624 - bell tower was raised
- 1807 - demolition of the Abbey church
Features
Today the church is characterized by its curved axis of the naveNave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
to the transept, the choir screen of finely carved stone by Father Biard (1545) (the latter existing in Paris), his chair designed by Laurent de La Hyre
Laurent de La Hyre
Laurent de La Hyre was a French Baroque painter, born in Paris.La Hyre was greatly influenced by the work of Italian artists who came to Paris. He became a pupil of Georges Lallemand and studied the works of Primaticcio at Fontainebleau, but never visited Italy...
and sculpted by Claude Lestocart and its organ case (1631) (the oldest in the capital). The church also contains the shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
containing the relics of St. Genevieve until 1793 (when they were thrown in the sewer), the tomb of Blaise de Vigenere
Blaise de Vigenère
Blaise de Vigenère was a French diplomat and cryptographer. The Vigenère cipher is so named due to the cipher being incorrectly attributed to him in the 19th century....
, of Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
, of Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
, and Mg Sibour.
Huysmans
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
described it in the Connecting (1895) as one of the most beautiful churches in Paris.
External links
- L'Internaute Magazine: Diaporama (in French)
- flickr group dedicated to St-Étienne-du-Mont
- deri montlar
- Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont (Wikipedia French Article)