The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, pronounced [sakʁe kœʁ]), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A
popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double
monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of
France in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871[1] crowning its most rebellious
neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular
vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.
The
Sacré-Cœur Basilica was designed by Paul Abadie. Construction
began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. It was consecrated after
the end of World War I in
1919.
Basilique of the Sacré Cœur
The
inspiration for Sacré Cœur's design originated on 4 September 1870, the day of
the proclamation of the Third Republic, with a speech by Bishop Fournier
attributing the defeat of French troops during the Franco-Prussian War to a
divine punishment after "a century of moral decline" since the French Revolution,
in the wake of the division in French society that arose in the decades
following that revolution, between devout Catholics and legitimist royalists on
one side, and democrats, secularists, socialists, and radicals on the other.
This schism in the French social order became particularly pronounced after the
1870 withdrawal of the French military garrison protecting the Vatican in Rome
to the front of the Franco-Prussian War by Napoleon III, the
secular uprising of the Paris Commune of
1870-1871, and the subsequent 1871 defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War.
Though
today the basilica is asserted to be dedicated in honor of the 58,000 who
lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblée nationale 24 July
1873, responding to a request by the archbishop of Paris and
voting its construction, specifies that it is to "expiate the crimes of
the Commune." Montmartre
had been the site of the Commune's first insurrection, and the Communards had
executed Georges
Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, who became a martyr for the resurgent Catholic
Church. His successor Guibert,
climbing the Butte Montmartre in October 1872, was reported to have had a
vision as clouds dispersed over the panorama: "It is here, it is here
where the martyrs are, it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that
it can beckon all to come."
In the
moment of inertia following the resignation of the government of Adolphe Thiers, 24 May
1873, François
Pie, bishop
of Poitiers, expressed the national yearning for spiritual renewal—
"the hour of the Church has come"— that would be expressed
through the "Government of Moral Order" of the Third Republic,
which linked Catholic institutions with secular ones, in "a project of
religious and national renewal, the main features of which were the restoration
of monarchy and the defense of Rome within a cultural framework of official
piety," of which Sacré-Cœur is the chief lasting,
triumphalist monument.
The 24
July decree voting its construction as a "matter of public
utility" followed close on Thiers' resignation. The project was
expressed by the Church as a National Vow (Vœu
national) and financial support came from parishes throughout France.
The dedicatory inscription records the basilica as the accomplishment of a vow
by Alexandre Legentil and Hubert
Rohault de Fleury, ratified by Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert, Archbishop of
Paris. The project took many years to complete.
Construction
A law
of public utility was passed to seize land at the summit of Montmartre for the
construction of the basilica. Architect Paul Abadiedesigned the
basilica after winning a competition over 77 other architects. With delays
in assembling the property, the foundation stone was finally laid 16 June 1875.
Passionate debates concerning the basilica were raised in the Conseil Municipal in 1880, where the
basilica was called "an incessant provocation to civil war" and it
was debated whether to rescind the law of 1873 granting property rights, an
impracticable proposition. The matter reached the Chamber of Deputies in the
summer of 1882, in which the basilica was defended by Archbishop Guibert
while Georges
Clemenceau argued that it sought to stigmatise the Revolution. The law
was rescinded but the basilica was saved by a technicality, and the bill was
not reintroduced in the next session. A further attempt to halt the
construction was defeated in 1897, by which time the interior was substantially
complete and had been open for services for six years.
Abadie
died not long after the foundation had been laid, in 1884, and five architects
continued with the work: Honoré Daumet (1884–1886), Jean-Charles
Laisné (1886–1891), Henri-Pierre-Marie
Rauline (1891–1904), Lucien Magne (1904–1916),
and Jean-Louis
Hulot (1916–1924). The basilica was not completed until 1914, when war
intervened; it was formally dedicated in 1919 after World War I, when its
national symbolism had shifted
Construction
costs, estimated at 7 million French francs and
drawn entirely from private donations, were expended before any above-ground,
visible structure was to be seen. A provisional chapel was consecrated 3 March
1876, and pilgrimage donations quickly became the mainstay of
funding. Donations were encouraged by the expedient of permitting donors
to "purchase" individual columns or other features as small as a
brick. It was declared by the National Assembly that the state had the
ultimate responsibility for funding.
Muted
echoes of the basilica's "tortured history" are still heard,
geographer David Harvey has
noted.In February 1971 demonstrators pursued by the police took refuge in the
basilica and called upon their radical comrades to join them in occupying the
church "built upon the bodies of communards in order to efface that red
flag that had for too long floated over Paris" as their leaflets expressed
it.
Architecture
The
overall style of the structure shows a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine features, an
unusual architectural vocabulary at the time, which was a conscious reaction
against the neo-Baroque excesses of the Palais Garnier cited
in the competition. Many design elements of the basilica symbolise nationalist themes:
the portico, with its
three arches, is adorned
by two equestrianstatues
of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927)
and King Saint
Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefebvre;
and the nineteen-ton Savoyarde bell
(one of the world's heaviest), cast in 1895 in Annecy, alludes to the
annexation of Savoy in
1860.
A
mosaic in the apse entitled Christ in
Majesty, created by Luc-Olivier Merson,
is among the largest in the world.
The
basilica complex includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain. The top of
the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the
city of Paris, which is mostly to the south of the basilica.
The use
of cameras and video recorders is forbidden inside the basilica
Pipe organ
The
basilica is home to a large and very fine pipe organ built
by Aristide
Cavaillé-Coll for a private home in Biarritz, composed of 109
ranks and 78 speaking stops spread across four 61-note manuals and the 32-note
pedalboard (unusual before the start of the 20th century; the standard of the
day was 56 and 30), spread across three expressive divisions (also unusual for the
time, even in large organs). The organ was ahead of its time, containing
multiple expressive divisions and giving the performer considerable advantages
over other even larger instruments of the day. It was almost identical (tonal
characteristics, layout, and casework) to the instrument in Sheffield's Albert Hall,
destroyed by fire in 1937. However, when installed in Paris in 1905 by
Cavaillé-Coll's successor and son-in-law, Charles
Mutin, it lost its ornate case for a much plainer one.
Role in Catholicism
In
response to requests from French bishops, Pope Pius IX promulgated
the feast of the Sacred
Heart in 1856. The basilica itself was consecrated on 16 October 1919.
Since
1885 (before construction had been completed) the Blessed Sacrament (Christ's
body, consecrated during the Mass) has been continually on display in a monstrance above the
high altar. Perpetual adoration of
the Blessed Sacrament has continued uninterrupted in the basilica since 1885.
Because of this, tourists and others are asked to dress appropriately when
visiting the basilica and to observe silence as much as possible, so as not to
disturb persons who have come from around the world to pray in this place of
pilgrimage.
Access
The
basilica is accessible by bus. Buses 30, 31, 80, and 85 can be taken to the
bottom of the hill of the basilica. Line 12 of the metro can be taken to Jules
Joffrin station and visitors can then change to the Montmartrobus and
disembark at Place
du Tertre. Line 2 or 12 of the metro can be taken to Pigalle station where
visitors can change to the Montmartrobus and disembark at Norvins, or to Anvers station which
gives easy access to the steps or the funicular car that lead directly to the
basilica. Normally the Abbesses_(Paris_Metro) station
is a good choice as well, but the station's elevators are out of service until
September 2017 and the 130+ meter climb can be quite difficult for the
infirm or elderly.
Sacré-Cœur
is open from 06:00 to 22:30 every day. The dome is accessible from 09:00 to
19:00 in the summer and to 18:00 in the winter.