Sacre-Coeur / Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris #4

Sacre-Coeur, Paris... more

by Clay Kirby

Title

Sacre-Coeur / Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris #4

Artist

Clay Kirby

Medium

Photograph - Photographs

Description

Sacre-Coeur, Paris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other Basilicas of the same name, see Basilica of the Sacred Heart (disambiguation).
Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Basilique du Sacre-Coeur (French)
Le sacre coeur (paris - france).jpg
The Basilica of Sacre-Coeur, as seen from the base of the butte Montmartre.
Basic information
Location Paris, France
Geographic coordinates 48 53′12.1″N 2 20′34.8″ECoordinates: 48 53′12.1″N 2 20′34.8″E
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Province Archdiocese of Paris
Year consecrated 1919
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Minor basilica
Website Basilica of the Sacre Coeur
Architectural description
Architect(s) Paul Abadie
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Romano-Byzantine
Groundbreaking 1900
Completed 1914
Specifications
Length 85 metres (279 ft)
Width 35 metres (115 ft)
Height (max) 83 metres (272 ft)
Materials Travertine stone
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacre-Coeur Basilica and often simply Sacre-Coeur (French: Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, pronounced [sakʁe koeʁ]), 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. Sacre-Coeur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of France in the 1871 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.[2]

The Sacre-Coeur 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.

The inspiration for Sacre Coeur's design originated on September 4, 1870, the day of the proclamation of the Third Republic, with a speech by Bishop Fournier attributing the defeat of France 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,[3] 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,[4] 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[5][when?] to be dedicated in honor of the 58,000 who lost their lives during the war, the decree of the Assemble nationale, 24 July 1873, responding to a request by the archbishop of Paris by voting its construction, specifies that it is to "expiate the crimes of the Commune".[6] 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,[7] it is here that the Sacred Heart must reign so that it can beckon all to come".[8]

In the moment of inertia following the resignation of the government of Adolphe Thiers, 24 May 1873, Franois Pie, bishop of Poitiers, expressed the national yearning for spiritual renewal "the hour of the Church has come"[9] 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",[10] of which Sacre-Coeur is the chief lasting triumphalist[11] monument.

The decree voting its construction as a "matter of public utility", 24 July,[12] followed close on Thiers' resignation. The project was expressed by the Church as a National Vow (Voeu 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.

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July 23rd, 2015