With spring break reduced to a measly 24 hours and study-abroad programs cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the physical freedom of the pilgrim has been reduced. Nonetheless, the Christian remains unbounded in his spiritual freedom. In prayer and meditation, the pilgrim is unbound and able to travel the road to Calvary and to altars around the world where Calvary is made present.
I spent two months last spring studying abroad in Paris before COVID-19 hit. Three churches come immediately to mind as representing the history, beauty, and piety of the Church in Paris.
St. Germain l’Auxerrois
St. Germain l’Auxerrois’s Flamboyant Gothic porch rivals the beauty of its neighbor across the street, the Louvre. The church previously served as the parish of those who lived in the palace. Named for a fifth century bishop of the Diocese of Auxerre, the church’s foundations date to the sixth century. The 15th century porch of the church, in the Flamboyant Gothic style, invites one into a church whose history is deeply linked with that of the Church in Paris. Today, the church is staffed by the Cathedral Canons of Notre Dame, who will celebrate Masses and pray the Liturgy of the Hours at St. Germain until Notre Dame is restored and reopened to the public. The Sunday evening diocesan Mass is usually solemnly sung by the Archbishop of Paris with incense and a beautiful choir. The beautiful music and solid preaching at this Mass brought me back to St. Germain most Sunday evenings.
St. Germain des Prés
Across the river from St. Germain L’Auxerrois lies St. Germain de Prées. The church was established as a rural abbey in the 6th century amidst the prés (meadows) for which it is named. During the middle ages the abbey was one of the most powerful and wealthy in Europe. It soon developed into a center of study, to which the tombs of Jean Mabillon, Bernard de Montfaucon, and René Descartes attest. During the Revolution, the monks were expelled and the church was desecrated. A side chapel dedicated to “the memory of the blessed martyrs of September 1792” serves as a stark reminder of the impunity with which revolutionaries attacked the Church. The abbey was then used as a gunpowder refinery and left decimated by an explosion. After the restoration of the Catholic Church under Napoleon, the abbey was made a parish church and a major restoration project ensued. Today the recently restored frescoes along the nave and sanctuary raise the mind to contemplate salvation history with colorful depictions of events in the Old and New Testament. Masses in French and Spanish, confessions throughout the week alongside robust sacred music concerts, faith groups, and homeless outreach ensures the 1500 year-old-church remains a sanctuary in Paris’s intellectual center.
Sacré Coeur de Montmartre
This 19th century basilica in the Romano-Byzantine style overlooks nearly all of Paris. The hill on which the church stands has long been a religious site. St. Denis, Patron of France, was beheaded for preaching the faith on Montmartre in the third century. In 1534, Sts. Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Peter Faber, and four other men trekked up Montmartre to take their first vows which laid the foundations for the Society of Jesus. Construction started in 1875, following the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune. The uprisings that established the revolutionary commune started in the surrounding neighborhood of Montmartre and the revolutionaries eventually executed the Archbishop of Paris in 1871. Many believed that the defeat by the Prussians was divine punishment because of widespread irreligiosity and moral decline in the years since the Revolution. The Basilica was built as a “national vow” intended to bring about religious renewal through devotion to the Sacred Heart. Despite wars and pandemics, perpetual Eucharistic Adoration has gone uninterrupted at Sacre Coeur since 1885. An order of Benedictine Sisters runs a 182-bed guest house at the Basilica to facilitate pilgrims wanting to join in overnight adoration for 6 euros. Overnight pilgrims commit to private adoration for at least an hour between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., ensuring there are always faithful people praying to the Sacred Heart of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. A side chapel to St. Ignatius, of particular interest to BC students, testifies to the holy hill’s role in the formation of the Society of Jesus and the Jesuits’ mission of spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart.
- Commencement: Now We Begin - April 30, 2021
- Pilgrim’s Progress: One Day in Paris - March 25, 2021
- Pope Accepts Resignation of Liturgy Chief - February 25, 2021