Paris
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ARCHDIOCESE OF PARIS (PARIBIENSIS)
See also
UNIVERSITY OF PARIS
.
Paris comprises the Department of the Seine. It was re-established by the Concordat of 1802 with much narrower limits than it had prior to the
Revolution
, when, besides the city of Paris and its suburbs, it comprised the archdeanery of Josas (including the deaneries of Châteaufort and Montlhéry) and the archdeanery of Brie (including the deaneries of Lagny and Vieux-Corbeil). The deanery of Champeaux, enclosed within the territory of the
Diocese of Sens
, was also dependent on the Archdiocese of Paris, which had then 492
parishes
. The Concordat gave to the
dioceses
of
Versailles
and Meaux the archdeaneries of Josas and Brie, which had nearly 350
parishes
, and reduced the Archdiocese of Paris to 42 urban and 76 suburban
parishes
. According to the Concordat it had eight suffragans: Amiens,
Arras
,
Cambrai
,
Orléans
, Meaux,
Soissons
,
Troyes
and
Versailles
. The re-establishment under the Restoration of the
Archdioceses
of
Reims
and Sens removed the Dioceses of
Troyes
,
Amiens
, and
Soissons
from the
jurisdiction
of Paris, but the Dioceses of
Blois
and Chartres, created in 1882, were attached to the Province of Paris. In 1841 Cambrai, having become a
metropolitan
see
, ceased to be a suffragan of Paris, Arras being made its suffragan.
The Roman
lutetia
The Gaul Camulogenus burnt Lutetia in 52
B.C.
, while defending against Cæsar the tribe of the
Parisii
, whose capital it was. The Romans erected a new city on the left slope of Mt. Lucotilius (later Mont Ste-Geneviève). That the Romanization of Paris was very quickly accomplished is
proved
:
- (1) by the altar (discovered in 1710 under the choir of Notre-Dame) raised to Jupiter under
Tiberius
by the
Nautœ Parisiaci
, on which are represented several
deities
borrowed from the Roman pantheon;
- (2) by the remains of a pedestal (found in 1871 on the site of the old Hôtel-Dieu), which doubtless supported a
statue
of Germanicus, and on which is represented
Janus Quadrifrons
, the Roman symbol of peace.
At the end of the third century Lutetia was destroyed by the barbarians, but an important military camp was at once installed in this district. Cæsar Julian, later emperor and known as
Julian the Apostate
, defended Lutetia against fresh invasions from the north over the road from Senlis to Orléans. There, in 360, he was proclaimed Augustus by his soldiers, and Valentian I also sojourned there. The ruins found in the garden of the Musée de Cluny have, since the twelfth century, been regarded as the ruins of the
Thermœ
, but in 1903-04 other
thermœ
were discovered a little distance away, which must be either those of the palace of
Julian the Apostate
, or, according to M. Julian, those of the communal house of the
Nautœ Parisiaci
. Ruins have also been discovered of an arena capable of holding from 8000 to 9000
persons
.
Beginnings of Christianity at Paris
Paris was a
Christian
centre at an early
date
, its first apostles being St. Denis and his companions, Sts. Rusticus and Eleutherius. Until the
Revolution
the ancient tradition of the Parisian Church commemorated the seven stations of St. Denis, the stages of his apostolate and
martyrdom
:
- (1) the ancient
monastery
of Notre-Dame-des-Champs of which the
crypt
, it was said, had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin by St. Denis on his arrival in Paris;
- (2) the
Church
of St-Etienne-des-Grès (now disappeared), which stood on the site of an oratory erected by St. Denis to St. Stephen;
- (3) the
Church
of St-Benoît (disappeared), where St. Denis had erected an oratory to the Trinity (
Deus Benedictus
);
- (4) the
chapel
of St-Denis-du-Pas near Notre-Dame (disappeared), on the site of the tribunal of the prefect Sicinnius, who tried St. Denis;
- (5) the
Church
of St-Denis-de-la-Châtre, the
crypt
of which was regarded as the
saint's
cell (now vanished);
- (6) Mont-martre, where, according to the chronicle written in 836 by Abbot Hilduin, St. Denis was executed;
- (7) the basilica of St-Denis (see below).
The memorials of the
saint's
activity in Paris have thus survived, but even the
date
of his apostolate is a matter of controversy. The legend stating St. Denis came to Gaul in the time of St. Clement, dates only from the end of the eighth century. It is found in the "Passio Dionisii", written about 800, and in the "Gesta Dagoberti", written at the Abbey of St-Denis at the beginning of the ninth century. Still later than the formation of this legend Abbot Hilduin identified St. Denis of Paris with Denis the Areopagite (see
DIONYSIUS THE PSEUDO-AREOPAGITE
), but this identification is no longer admitted, and history is inclined to accept the opinion of
St. Gregory of Tours
, who declares St. Denis one of the seven
bishops
sent by Pope Fabian about 250. It is
certain
that the
Christian
community of Paris was of some importance in the third century. Recent discoveries seem to prove that the
catacombs
of the Gobelins and of St. Marcellus on the left bank were the oldest
necropolis
of Paris; here have been found nearly 500
tombs
, of which the oldest date from the end of the third century. Doubtless in this quarter was situated the church spoken of by
St. Gregory of Tours
as the oldest in the city; here was the sarcophagus of the virgin Crescentia, granted that our hypothesis agrees with a legend referring to this region the foundation of the
chapel
under the patronage of Pope St. Clement, in which Bishop St. Marcellus was buried in the fifth century. This
bishop
, who was a native of Paris, governed the
Church
of Paris about 430; he is celebrated in popular tradition for his victory over a dragon, and his life was written by
Fortunatus
.
Merovingian Paris
Paris was preserved from the invasion of
Attila
through the
prayers
and activity of
St. Genevieve
, who prevailed on the Parisians not to abandon their city.
Clovis
, King of the
Franks
, was received there in 497 after his
conversion
to
Christianity
, and made it his capital. The coming of the
Franks
brought about its great religious development. At the summit of the hill on the left bank
Clovis
founded, in
honour
of the Apostles Peter and Paul, a
basilica
to which the
tomb
of
St. Genevieve
drew numbers of the
faithful
, and in which St. Clotilde, who died at
Tours
, was buried. On the right bank were built as early as the fifth century two churches
consecrated
to
St. Martin of Tours
— one near the present Notre-Dame, the other further in the country, in the place where the
Church
of St-Martin-des-Champs now stands. Childebert (died 558), son of
Clovis
, having become King of Paris in 511, added to the religious prestige of the city. After his campaign in
Spain
, he made peace with the inhabitants of Saragossa on condition that they would deliver to him the
sacred vessels
and the
stole
of St. Vincent, and on his return, at the instance of St. Germain, built a
church
in
honour
of St. Vincent, which later took the name of Germain himself. The present church of St-Germain-des-Prés still preserves some columns from the triforium, which must date from the first building. After the death of Caribert, son of Clotaire I (567), Paris was not divided among the other sons of Clotaire, but formed a sort of municipal republic under the direction of St. Germain. Owing to this exceptional situation Paris escaped almost entirely the consequences of the civil
wars
with which the sons of Clotaire, and later Fredegunde and Brunhilde, disturbed Merovingian
France
. Mgr Duchesne concedes a certain authority to an ancient catalogue of the
bishops
of Paris, preserved in a sacramentary
dating
from the end of the ninth or the beginning of the tenth century. After St. Germain other
bishops
of the Merovingian period were: St. Céran (Ceraunus, 606-21), who collected and compiled the Acts of the Martyrs, and during whose episcopate a council of seventy-nine
bishops
(the first national council of
France
) was held at the basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul; St. Landry (650-6), who founded under the patronage of St. Christopher the first charity
hospital
(
Hôtel-Dieu
) of Paris, and who caused the
monk
Marculf to compile, under the name of "Recueil de Formules", the first French and Parisian code, which is a real monument of the legislation of the seventh century; St. Agilbert (666-80), who was the brother of St. Theodechilde, first
Abbess
of Jouarre, and who had, during his youth in
England
, instructed in
Christianity
the King of the Saxons; St. Hugues (722-30), nephew of
Charles Martel
, previously
Archbishop
of
Rouen
and
Abbot
of Fontenelle.
Paris under the Carlovingians
The
Carlovingian
period opened with the episcopate of Déodefroi (757-75), who received Pope Stephen at Paris. Special mention must be made of Æneas (appointed
bishop
in 853 or 858; died 870), who wrote against Photius, under the title "Libellus adversus Græcos", a collection of texts from the Fathers on the Holy Ghost,
fasting
, and the Roman primacy. As the Carlovingians most frequently resided on the banks of the Meuse or the Rhine, the
bishops
of Paris greatly increased their political influence, though confronted by counts who represented the absent sovereigns. The
bishops
were masters of most of the
Ile de la Cité
and of a considerable portion of the right bank, near St-Germain-l'Auxerrois. As early as the ninth century the
property
of the chapter of Notre-Dame, established (775-95) by Bishop Erchenrade, was distinct from that of the
diocese
, while the
cloister
and the residences of the canons were quite independent of the royal power. Notre-Dame and the Abbey of St-Germain-des-Prés were then two great
economic
powers which sent through the kingdom their agents (
missi negociantes
), charged with making purchases. When the Normans entered Paris in 845 or 846, the body of St. Germain was hurriedly removed. They established themselves in the
abbey
, but left on payment of 7000 livres, whereupon the
saint's
body was brought back with great pomp. Another Norman invasion in 850 or 856 again occasioned the removal of St. Germain's body, which was restored in 863. Other alarms came in 865 and 876, but the worst attack took place on 24 Nov., 885, when Paris was defended by its
bishop
, the celebrated Gozlin, a
Benedictine
and former
Abbot
of St-Germain-des-Prés, and by Count Eudes of Paris, later King of
France
. The siege lasted a year, of which an account in Latin verse was written by the
monk
Abbo Cernuus
. Gozlin died in the breach on 16 April, 886. His nephew Ebles,
Abbot
of St-Germain, was also among the valiant defenders of the city. The Parisians called upon Emperor Charles the Fat to assist them, and he paid the Normans a ransom, and even gave them permission to ascend the Seine through the city to pillage
Burgundy
; the Parisians refused to let them pass, however, and the Normans had to drag their boats around the walls. After the deposition of Charles the Fat, Eudes, who had defended Paris against the Normans, became king, and repelled another Norman attack, assisted by Gozlin's successor, Bishop Anscheric (886-91). After the death of Eudes the Parisians recognized his brother Robert, Count of Paris and Duke of
France
, and then Hugh the Great.
Hugh Capet
, son of Hugh the Great, prevented Paris from falling into the hands of the troops of Emperor
Otto II
in 978; in 987 he founded the Capetian dynasty.
Paris under the Capetians
"To form a conception of Paris in the tenth and eleventh centuries", writes M. Marcel Poète, "we must picture to ourselves a network of churches and
monasteries
surrounded by cultivated farm-lands on the present site of Paris." Take, for example, the
monastery
of St. Martin-des-Champs, which in 1079 was attached to the Order of Cluny; about this
monastery
and its hospice was grouped a real agricultural colony, while all trades were practised in the
monastic
school
. The same was
true
of the
monastery
of Sts. Barthélemy and Magloire, which was celebrated at the beginning of the Capetian period, and was dependent on the Abbey of Marmoutiers (see
TOURS
). But a still more famous monastic establishment was the Abbey of St-Germain-des-Prés. Its estates of Issy and of Celle-St-Cloud were vast possessions, and the polyptych (record of the monastic possessions), drawn up at the beginning of the ninth century under the direction of Abbot Irminon, shows how these estates, which extended into Indre and Normandy, were administered and cultivated. The first Capetians generally resided at Paris. Louis the Fat quarrelled with Bishop Etienne de Senlis (1124-42). The
bishop
placed the royal domain under
interdict
, whereupon the king confiscated the temporalities of the
diocese
, but the intervention of the
pope
and of
St. Bernard
put an end to the difference, and to seal the reconciliation, the king invited the
bishop
to the
coronation
of his son, Louis VII. The episcopal court of
Peter Lombard
(1157 or 1159 to 1160 or 1164) contributed to the scholarly reputation of the
Church
of Paris. The
University of Paris
did not yet exist, but, from the beginning of the twelfth century, the
monastic
schools
of Notre-Dame were already famous, and the teaching of
Peter Lombard
, known as the Master of the Sentences, added to their lustre. Louis VI declared in a diploma that he had passed "his childhood in the
schools
of Notre-Dame as in the maternal bosom". At Notre-Dame
William of Champeaux
had taught dialectics, been a professor, and become an
archdeacon
, and had
Abelard
as a disciple before he founded the
school
of St-Victor in 1108. Until about 1127 the students of Notre-Dame resided within the chapter enclosure. By a command of
Alexander III
the principle of gratuitous instruction was asserted. In a letter written between 1154 and 1182 Philippe de Harvengt says: "There is at Paris such an assemblage and abundance of
clerics
that they threatened to outnumber the
laity
. Happy city, where the Holy Books are so assiduously studied and their mysteries so well expounded, where such diligence reigns among the students, and where there is such a
knowledge
of Scripture that it may be called the city of letters!" At the same period Peter of
Blois
says that all who wish the settlement of any question should apply to Paris, where the most tangled knots are untied. In his letter to Archbishop
William of Sens
(1169), St. Thomas à Becket declares himself ready to submit his difference with the King of
England
to the judgment of the scholars at Paris.
The long episcopate of
Maurice de Sully
(1160-96), the son of a simple serf, was marked by the
consecration
of the
Cathedral
of Notre-Dame (see below) and the journey to Paris of
Pope Alexander III
(1163). Hughes de Monceaux,
Abbot
of St-Germain, requested the
pope
to
consecrate
the
monastery
church.
Maurice de Sully
,
Bishop
of Paris, having accompanied the
pope
to the
ceremony
, was invited by the
abbot
to withdraw, and
Alexander III
declared in a sermon, afterwards confirmed by a
Bull
, thenceforth the
Church
of St-Germain-des-Prés was dependent only on the
Roman pontiff
, and subsequently conferred on the
abbot
a number of episcopal prerogatives. In time the Abbey of St-Germain became the centre of a bourg, the inhabitants of which were granted municipal freedom by Abbot Hughes de Monceaux about 1170. Eudes de Sully (1197-1208), the successor of Maurice,
courageously
opposed King Philip II, when he wished to repudiate Ingeburge and wed Agnes de Méran. Philip II was a benefactor of Paris, and the
university
was founded during his reign (1215). (See
UNIVERSITY OF PARIS
.) The thirteenth century, and especially the reign of St. Louis, was a period of great industrial and commercial prosperity for Paris, as is shown by the "Livre des Mestiers" of Etienne Boileau and the invectives of
Petrarch
. Bishop Guillaume d'Auvergne (1227-49) received from St. Louis the Crown of Thorns, which was borne in procession to Paris on 18 August, 1239. Under St. Louis the Parliament was permanently established at Paris and the
Bishop
of Paris declared a
conseiller-né
. Under
Philip the Fair
occurred at Paris the trial of the
Templars
which ended (1314) with the execution of Jacques de Molai.
Paris under the Valois
The troubles of the Hundred Years' War throw into relief the character of Pierre de la Forest,
Bishop
of Paris (1350-2), later
Archbishop
of
Rouen
and
cardinal
. After the Battle of
Poitiers
(1356), at which John II was taken
prisoner
, the dauphin Charles (afterwards Charles V) convoked at Paris the States General of 1356, 1357, and 1358. At these assemblies the
provost
of merchants, Etienne Marcel, and Robert Le Coq,
Bishop
of Laon, were the leaders of a violent opposition to the royal party. The result of the assassination of Etienne Marcel was the dauphin's victory. Having become king as Charles V, the latter made himself a magnificent residence at the Hôtel St-Paul, rebuilt the Louvre, and began the construction of the Bastille. During his reign the
cardinalitial
purple was first given to the
bishops
of Paris. Etienne de Paris (1363-8) and Aimeri de Maignac (1368-84) received it in turn. The revolt of the Maillotins (1381) and the
wars
between the
Burgundians
and Armagnacs during the first twenty years of the fifteenth century filled Paris with blood. After the Treaty of Troyes (1420) Paris received an English garrison. Because of his sympathy with Charles VI, John Courtecuisse, a
theologian
of Gallican tendencies who became
bishop
in 1420, was compelled to go into exile at
Geneva
, where he died in 1423. The attack of
Joan of Arc
on Paris in 1430 was unsuccessful. The Treaty of Arras between Philip the Good, Duke of
Burgundy
, and Charles VII, restored Paris under the dominion of the kings of
France
. Louis XI (q.v.), successor of Charles VII, was much beloved by the citizens of Paris. The poet Jean du Bellay, friend of
Francis I
and several times ambassador, was
Bishop
of Paris from 1532 to 1551, and was made
cardinal
in 1535. With him the
Renaissance
was established in the
diocese
, and it was at his persuasion that
Francis I
founded for the teaching of languages and philology the Collège Royal, which later became the Collège de France (1529). In 1533 du Ballay negotiated between
Henry VIII
and
Clement VII
in an attempt to prevent
England's
break with the
Holy See
, and, when in 1536 the troops of
Charles V
threatened Picardy and Champagne, he received from
Francis I
the title of Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom and placed Paris in a state of defence. Du Bellay was a typical
prelate
of the
Renaissance
, and was celebrated for his three books of Latin poetry and his magnificent Latin discourses. For a time he had for his secretary, Rabelais, whom he is said to have inspired to write "Pantagruel". He was disgraced under Henry II, resigned his
bishopric
in 1551, and went to
Rome
, where he died. The consequences of the rise of
Protestantism
and of the
wars
of religion in regard to Paris are treated under
SAINT BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY
;
THE LEAGUE
;
FRANCE
.
Paris under the Bourbons
With Cardinal Pierre de Gondi (died 1598), who occupied the See of Paris from 1568, began the Gondi dynasty which occupied the
see
for a century. As ambassador to
Pius V
,
Gregory XIII
, and
Sixtus V
, Pierre de Gondi always opposed the League and favoured the accession of
Henry of Navarre
. After the episcopate of his nephew Cardinal Henri de Gondi (1598-1622), Paris became an
archiepiscopal see
, and was given to Jean François de Gondi. As early as 1376 Charles V had sought the erection of Paris to
archiepiscopal
rank, but, out of regard for the
archbishops
of
Sens
, the
Holy See
had then refused to grant the petition. Louis XIII was more successful, and by a
Bull
of October, 1622, Paris was made a
metropolitan
see
with Chartres, Meaux, and Orléans as suffragans. Jean François de Gondi did much to further the development of religious congregations (see PIERRE DE BÉRULLE;
FRENCH CONGREGATION OF THE ORATORY
;
JEAN-JACQUES OLIER
;
SOCIETY OF ST-SULPICE
;
SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL
), and, during the civil disturbances of the Fronde, laboured for the relief of the suffering populace, whose tireless benefactor was
St. Vincent de Paul
. The
archbishop's
coadjutor was his nephew Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz, who often played the part of a political conspirator. In 1662 the See of Paris was for a very brief period occupied by the Gallican canonist Pierre de Marca, earlier
Archbishop
of
Toulouse
. He was succeeded by
Hardouin
de Péréfixe de Beaumont (1662-71), during whose episcopate began the sharp conflicts evoked by
Jansenism
. He had been tutor to
Louis XIV
and was the biographer of
Henry IV
. Harlay de Champvallon (1671-95) is the subject of a separate article.
Louis Antoine* de Noailles
(1695-1729), made
cardinal
in 1700, played an important part in the disputes concerning
Quietism
and
Jansenism
. After an attempt to reconcile
Bossuet
and
Fénelon
he took sides against the latter, successively approved and condemned
Quesnel's
book, and did not subscribe to the
Bull
"Unigenitus"
until 1728. In the eighteenth century the See of Paris was made illustrious by Christophe de Beaumont (1746-81), earlier
Bishop
of
Bayonne
and
Archbishop
of Vienne, who succeeded in putting an end to the opposition lingering among some of the
clergy
to the
Bull
"Unigenitus"
. The parliamentarians protested against the denial of the
sacraments
to impenitent
Jansenists
, and Louis XV, after having at first forbidden the Parliament to concern itself with this question, turned against the
archbishop
, exiled him, and then endeavoured to secure his resignation by offering him tempting dignities. But it was especially against the
philosophes
that this
prelate
waged
war
; pamphlets were written against him, among them the "Lettre de Jean Jacques Rousseau à monseigneur l'archévêque de Paris". Antoine* Le Clerc de Juigné (died 1811), who succeeded Beaumont in 1781, was president of the
clergy
at the States General of 1789. He went into exile during the
Revolution
, and at the Concordat resigned his
see
at the
pope's
request.
Paris during the Revolution
Within the present boundaries of the archdiocese the number of
priests
forming the active
clergy
at the time of the
Revolution
was about 1000, of whom 600 were in Parisian
parishes
, 150 in those of the suburbs, and 250 were
chaplains
. There were 921 religious, belonging to 21 religious
families
divided among 38
convents
. Immediately after the adoption of the Civil Constitution of the
clergy
8 new
parishes
were created in Paris and 27 were suppressed. Out of 50 Parisian
pastors
26 refused to take the
oath
; out of 69 first or second
curates
36 refused; of the 399 other
priests
having spiritual powers, 216 refused. On the other hand among the
priests
who, not exercising
parochial
duties
, were not called upon to swear, 196 declared that they would take the
oath
and 14 refused. On 13 March 1791, Gobel (born 1727),
Bishop
of
Lydda
, Coadjutor
Bishop
of Basle, and a member of the Constitutional Assembly, was elected
bishop
by 500 votes. Loménie de Brienne,
Archbishop
of
Sens
, and Jarente,
Bishop
of
Orléans
, though both had accepted the civil constitution of the
clergy
, refused to give Gobel
canonical institution
, and he received it from the famous Talleyrand,
Bishop
of
Autun
. Gobel surrounded himself with married
clerics
such as Louis de Saint Martin, Colombart, and Aubert, and through the Marquis of Spinola, Minister of the Republic of
Genoa
, endeavoured to obtain from the
Holy See
a sum of money in exchange for his submission. At the beginning of 1793 he was at the head of about 600 "sworn"
priests
, about 500 of whom were employed in
parishes
. On 7 November, 1793, he solemnly declared before the Convention that his subordinates and he renounced the
duties
of
ministers
of
Catholic
worship, whereupon the Convention congratulated him on having "sacrificed the grotesque baubles of
superstition
". On the same day Notre-Dame was dedicated to the worship of Reason, Citizeness Aubry, a
comédienne
, impersonating that goddess and Gobel presiding at the
ceremony
. Finally, the Commune of Paris decided that all churches should be closed, and that whosoever requested that they be reopened should be regarded as a suspect. In March, 1794, Gobel was condemned to
death
as an
atheist
by the followers of Robespierre, and was executed after lengthy spiritual interviews with the Sulpician Emery and after he had addressed to Abbé Lothringer a letter in which he declared his repentance. In the absence of Juigné, the legitimate
bishop
, the
Catholic
faithful continued to obey a council formed of the Abbéss de Malaret, Emery, and Espinasse, under the leadership of the former
vicar-general
, Charles Henri du Valk de Dampierre, who was in hiding. Public worship was restored by the Law of Ventose, Year III, and by the
law
of 2 Prairial, Year III (30 March, 1795), fifteen churches were reopened. As early as 1796 about fifty places of worship had been reopened in Paris; sixteen or seventeen, of which eleven were
parochial
churches, were administered by
priests
who had accepted the Constitution. More than thirty others of which three were
parochial
churches, were administered by
priests
who were in secret obedience to the legitimate
archbishop
, and the number of Constitutional
priests
had fallen from 600 to 150.
Paris in the nineteenth century
The Archdiocese of Paris became more and more important in
France
during the nineteenth century.
Jean Baptiste de Belloy
, former
Bishop
of
Marseilles
, who was appointed
archbishop
in 1802, was then ninety-three years old. On 18 April, 1802, he presided at Notre-Dame over the
ceremony
at which the Concordat was
solemnly
published. Despite his great age he reorganized worship in Paris, and re-established
religious life
in its forty-two
parishes
. In a conciliatory spirit he appointed to about twelve of these
parishes
priests
who had taken the
oath
during the
Revolution
. He became
cardinal
in 1803 and died in 1808. The conflict between
Napoleon
and
Pius VII
was then at its height.
Napoleon
attempted to make
Fesch
accept the See of Paris, while the latter wished to retain that of
Lyons
. Cardinal Maury (1746-1817), formerly a royalist deputy to the Constitutional Assembly, also ambassador to the
Holy See
from the Count of Provence, but who went over to the Empire in 1800 and in 1810 became
chaplain
to King Jerome, was named
Archbishop
of Paris by
Napoleon
on 14 Oct., 1810. The chapter at once conferred on him the powers of
vicar-capitular
, until he should be
preconized
by the
pope
, but, when it became known that
Pius VII
, by a
Brief
of 5 November, 1810, refused to recognize the
nomination
, Maury was actively opposed by a section of the chapter and the
clergy
. The emperor took his revenge by striking at the
vicar-capitular
,
Astros
. At the fall of
Napoleon
, despite his
zeal
in persuading it to adhere to the deposition of the emperor, Maury was deprived of his faculties by the chapter. In agreement with
Rome
, Louis XVIII named as
Archbishop
of Paris (1 Aug., 1817) Alexandre Angélique de Talleyrand-Périgord (1736-1821), who, despite the Concordat, chose to retain his title of
Archbishop
of
Reims
until 1816 and who was created
cardinal
on 28 July, 1817. Talleyrand-Périgord did not take possession of his
see
until Oct., 1819. He divided the diocese into three arch-deaneries, which division is still in force.
On the death of Talleyrand-Périgord in 1821, his coadjutor Hyacinthe Louis de Quélen (1778-1840), court
chaplain
, succeeded him. A member of the Chamber of Peers under the Restoration, Quélen, as president of the commission for the investigation of the
school
situation, vainly endeavoured to prevent the
promulgation
of the Martignac ordinances against the
Jesuits
in June, 1828. His friendly relations with Louis XVIII and Charles X drew upon him in 1830 the hostility of the populace; his palace was twice sacked, and the Monarchy of July regarded him with suspicion, but the devotion he showed during a terrible cholera epidemic won many hearts to him. Assisted by
Dupanloup
he converted the famous Talleyrand, nephew of his predecessor, on his death-bed in 1838. Quélen died 8 Jan., 1840, and was succeeded by
Denis-Auguste Affre
, (1793-1848), who was slain at the barricades in 1848.
Marie-Dominique-Auguste Sibour
(1792-1862), formerly
Bishop
of
Digne
, succeeded
Affre
; among the
prelates
consulted by
Pius IX
with regard to the opportuneness of defining the Immaculate Conception, he was one of the few who opposed it. He was killed in the church of St-Etienne-du-Mont on 3 Jan., 1857, by a suspended
priest
. After the short episcopate of Cardinal Morlot (1857-62) the
see
was occupied from 1862 to 1872 by
Georges Darboy
, who was
slain during the Commune
. Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert (1802-86), previously
Bishop
of
Viviers
and
Archbishop
of
Tours
, became
Archbishop
of Paris on 27 Oct., 1871. His episcopate was made notable by the erection of the basilica of Montmartre (see below), and the creation of the Catholic University, at the head of which he placed
Mgr d'Hulst
. His successor was François-Marie-Benjamin Richard (1819-1907), former
Bishop
of
Belley
, who had been coadjutor of Paris since July, 1875, became
cardinal
24 May, 1889, and was active in the defence of the religious congregations. Mgr Léon Amette (born at Douville, in the
Diocese of Evreux
, 1850), coadjutor to Cardinal Richard since February, 1906, succeeded him in the See of Paris, on 28 Jan., 1908.
Notre-Dame-de-Paris
On the site now occupied by the courtyards of Notre-Dame de Paris there was as early as the sixth century a church of Notre-Dame, which had as patrons the Blessed Virgin, St. Stephen, and St. Germain. It was built by Childebert about 528, and on the site of the present
sacristy
there was also a church dedicated to St. Stephen. The Norman invasions destroyed Notre-Dame, but St-Etienne remained standing, and for a time served as the
cathedral
. At the end of the ninth century Notre-Dame was rebuilt, and the two churches continued to exist side by side until the eleventh century when St-Etienne fell to ruin.
Maurice de Sully
resolved to erect a magnificent
cathedral
on the ruins of St-Etienne and the site of Notre-Dame. Surrounded by twelve
cardinals
,
Alexander III
, who sojourned at Paris from 24 March to 25 April, 1163, laid the
corner-stone
. Henri de Château-Marçay,
papal legate
,
consecrated
the
high altar
in 1182; Hierarchus,
Patriarch
of
Jerusalem
, officiated in 1185 in the completed choir; the
façade
was finished in 1218, the towers in 1235. Jean and Pierre de Chelles completed the work, and, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, the
cathedral
was as it is now. The following are among the noteworthy events which took place at Notre-Dame: the depositing by St. Louis (10 Aug., 1239) of the Crown of Thorns, a portion of the
True Cross
, and a nail of the Passion; the obsequies of St. Louis (21 May, 1271); the assembling of the first States-General (10 April, 1302); the
coronation
of Henry VI of
England
as King of
France
(17 Nov., 1431); the
coronation
of
Mary Stuart
(4 April, 1560); the funeral oration of the Duc de Mercœur by
St. Francis de Sales
(27 April, 1602); the
vow
of Louis XIII, making the Assumption a feast of the kingdom (10 Feb., 1638); the
abjuration
of the Ambrose Maréchal de Turenne (23 Oct., 1668); the funeral oration of the Prince de Condé by
Bossuet
(10 March, 1687).
During the
French Revolution
, in the period following 1790, the treasury was despoiled of many of its precious objects, which were sent to the mint to be melted down. The Crown of Thorns was taken to the cabinet of antiquities of the Bibliothèque Nationale and thus escaped destruction. The
statues
of the kings, which adorned the
porch
, were destroyed in October, 1793, by order of the Paris Commune. The feast of Reason was celebrated in Notre-Dame in November, 1793; in December of the same year Saint-Simon, the future founder of the Saint-Simonian religion, was about to purchase the church and destroy it. From 1798 it contained the offices of the Constitutional
clergy
, and from 5 March to 28 May, 1798, it was also the meeting-place of the
Theophilanthropists
.
Catholic
worship was resumed on 18 April, 1802, and the
coronation
of
Napoleon
took place there on 2 December, 1804. By the preface of his novel "Notre Dame de Paris" (1832) Victor Hugo aroused a strong public sentiment in favour of the
cathedral
. In April, 1844, the Government entrusted Lassus and Viollet le Duc with a complete restoration, which was completed in 1864. On 31 May, 1864,
Archbishop Darboy
dedicated the restored
cathedral
. The marriage of
Napoleon III
(30 January, 1853), the funeral services of President Carnot (1 July, 1894), the obsequies of President Félix Faure (23 Feb., 1899), took place at Notre-Dame. Notre-Dame has been a minor basilica since 27 Feb., 1805. As early as the beginning of the thirteenth century at least two churches were copied entirely from the
cathedral
of Paris, viz, the collegiate church of Mantes (Seine-et-Oise.) and the
cathedral
of
Nicosia
in the
Island of Cyprus
, the
bishop
of which was a brother of the cantor of Notre-Dame. The
Ile de la Cité
, where Notre-Dame stands, also contains the Sainte-Chapelle, in the Palais de la Justice, one of the most beautiful religious buildings in Paris. It was built (1212-47) under St. Louis by Pierre de Montereau, with the exception of the spire. Its
stained-glass
windows are admirable. In former times the king, from an ogival baldachin, displayed to the people the
relics
of the Passion.
Principal churches on the right bank of the Seine
The Church of St-Germain-l'Auxerrois was built between the thirteenth and the sixteenth century on the site of a
baptistery
built by St. Germain, where
baptism
was administered on fixed dates. At other times the
piscina
was dry, and the
catechumens
came and seated themselves on the steps while
catechetical
classes were held. Three tragic recollections are connected with this church. On 24 August, 1572, its bells gave the signal for the Massacre of St. Bartholomew; in 1617, the body of Concini, Ambrose Maréchal d'Ancre, which had been buried there, was disinterred by the mob and mutilated; on 14 Feb., 1831, the people sacked the church under the pretext that an anniversary Mass was being celebrated for the
soul
of the Duc de Berry. The
Church
of St-Eustache, built between 1532 and 1637, was the scene of the First Communion of
Louis XIV
(1649), the funeral oration of Turenne preached by
Fléchier
(1676), and
Massillon's
sermon on the small number of the
elect
(1704).
Massillon
preached the
Lenten
sermons in the church of St-Leu (fourteenth century), and the conspirator Georges Cadoudal hid in its
crypt
from the police of
Bonaparte
. In the
Church
of St-Gervais (early sixteenth-century), where the League was established,
Bossuet
preached the funeral sermon of Chancellor Michel Le Tellier. Its doorway, of which Louis XIII laid the first stone in 1616, is a very beautiful work of Salomon de Brosse. Blessed Marie de l'Incarnation was
baptized
at Saint-Merry (1520-1612). In Saint-Louis-en-l'Ile (rebuilt 1664-1726)
St. Vincent de Paul
presided over the meetings at which the charity bureaux were organized. Charles VI, Charles VII, and
Olier
were
baptized
in the
Church
of St-Paul, destroyed during the
Revolution
. The
Church
of St-Louis (seventeenth-century), former
chapel
of the
Jesuit
professed house, where
Bourdaloue
preached the funeral sermon of Condé and where he was buried, was chosen at the Concordat to replace the
parish
of St-Paul, and took the name of St-Paul-St-Louis. The Madeleine (begun 1764 and finished 1824), of which
Napoleon I
wished to make a Temple of Glory, had within less than a century two
pastors
, who were
martyred
, Le Ber, butchered in 1792, and Deguerry, shot in 1871. The
Church
of St-Lawrence (fifteenth-century) was often visited by
St. Vincent de Paul
, who lived in the
convent
of St-Lazare within the confines of the
parish
. Here was buried
Venerable Madame Le Gras
, foundress of the Sisters of Charity. During the
Revolution
it was given to the
Theophilanthropists
who made of it the "Temple of Hymen and Fidelity". With regard to Notre-Dame-des-Victoires see below under FAMOUS PILGRIMAGES. St-Denys-de-la-Chapelle (thirteenth-century) stands where
St. Genevieve
and her companions rested, when they were making a
pilgrimage
from Paris to the
tomb
of St. Denis.
Bl. Joan of Arc
, who had come to besiege Paris, stopped here to
pray
.
Principal churches on the left bank
St-Nicholas-du-Chardonnet (1656-1758) is famous for the
seminary
which Bourdoise founded in the vicinity, for the Forty Hours preached there by St. Francis de Sales, and for the funeral oration of
Lamoignon
preached there by
Fléchier
. St-Sulpice (1646-1745) is famous for its
pastor
Olier
; in 1793 it was a
temple
of Victory, under the Directory it was used by the
Theophilanthropists
, and there
Pius VII
consecrated
the
bishops
of
La Rochelle
and
Poitiers
. To the
architectural
importance of St-Germain-des-Prés was added in the nineteenth century the attraction of
Flandrin's
frescoes. St-Médard (fifteenth-sixteenth-century) became celebrated in the eighteenth century owing to the sensation caused by the
Jansenists
with regard to the wonders wrought at the
tomb
of the
deacon
Paris. St-Séverin (fourteenth-fifteenth-century), one of the most remarkable Gothic edifices of Paris, replaced an older church in which
Foulques de Neuily
preached the
Fourth Crusade
in 1199;
St. Vincent de Paul
,
Bossuet
,
Massillon
,
Fléchier
,
Lacordaire
, and
Ravignan
preached in this church. Originally dedicated to St. Severinus, a Parisian
hermit
, who was buried there in 555, it was dedicated to St. Severinus of Agaune from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, and since 1753 has had both these
saints
as patrons. Ste-Clotilde (1846-61) was made a minor basilica on 19 April, 1897, at the time of the fourteenth centenary of
Clovis
. St-Lambert-de-Vaugirard had as
pastor
Olier
, who founded the Society of St-Sulpice, and
St. John Baptist de la Salle
opened his first
school
in this
parish
; its name of Vaugirard (
Vallis Gerardi
) recalls the charitable
Abbot
of St-Germain-des-Prés, Gerard de Moret, who built dwellings for sick religious in the locality. The church of the
Sorbonne
, where religious services are no longer held, was begun in 1635,
Richelieu
laying its foundation stone, and completed in 1646.
Richelieu's
tomb
in this church was violated during the
Revolution
; the
cardinal's
head, which was taken away on this occasion, was restored to this church in 1866. The
chapel
of Val-de-Gârce, a very beautiful specimen of the
Jesuit
style and famous for its
cupola
wherein
Mignard
has depicted the glory of the blessed, was built in fulfillment of a
vow
made by Anne of Austria.
Mansart
was its first architect, and the
corner-stone
was laid in 1645 by
Louis XIV
at the age of seven. Here was buried Henrietta of
France
, wife of Charles I of
England
, and here
Bossuet
preached the
Lenten
sermons of 1663. It is now the
chapel
of the Paris military
hospital
. The
chapel
of St-Louis-des-Invalides contains the
tomb
of
Napoleon I
. In the
crypt
of the
Church
of St-Joseph-des-Carmes, built by the
Carmelites
between 1613 and 1625 and now the church of the Institut Catholique, are the
tomb
of
Ozanam
and the remains of the 120
priests
massacred in this church on 2 Sept., 1792, after fifteen days of captivity. In this
crypt
Lacordaire
remained attached to a cross for three hours.
Principal abbeys
The
Benedictine
Abbey of St-Germain-des-Prés, the foundation and
medieval
splendour of which have been described above, was long famous for the fair which it held. During the seventeenth century its important
library
made it a centre of learning, and Luc d'Achéry,
Mabillon
, and Montfaucon rendered it illustrious. Abbé Prévost, author of the famous romance "Manon Lescaut", was for a time a
Benedictine
at St-Germain-des-Prés, where he worked on "Gallia Christiana". John Casimir, first a
Jesuit
and later King of
Poland
, died as
Abbot
of St-Germain-des-Prés in 1672. The
abbey
prison
was the scene of the September massacres in 1792.
The origin of the Abbey of St-Victor was a hermitage, to which
William of Champeaux
retired in 1108. The
abbey
was founded by a royal charter in 1113, and had as first
abbot
Gilduin, confessor of Louis the Fat. The
abbey
governed the
priories
of Corbeil, Château-Laudon, Etampes, Mantes, Poissy, Dreux, and even the
cathedral
of
Séez
. During the first century it was rendered illustrious by Richard of St-Victor, Hugh of St-Victor, and the
liturgical
poet, Adam of St-Victor. Grave abuses having crept into the Congregation of the Canons of
St. Genevieve
,
Pope Eugenius III
and
Suger
in 1148 introduced the
Canons Regular of St. Augustine
from the Abbey of St-Victor. From the thirteenth to the fifteenth century the
abbey
passed through a period of decadence, and in 1498 two strange
monks
, John Standonck,
rector
of the College of Montaigu, and John Monbaer of Windesheim near Zwolle, spent nine months at the
abbey
to effect its reform. With the sixteenth century began a series of commendatory
abbots
, one of whom, Antonio Caracciolo, became a
Protestant
. The canons of St-Victor took a very important part in the League. The first half of the seventeenth century was characterized by a conflict between Jean de
Toulouse
,
prior
of St-Victor, and the Genovéfains; a decision of the
official
(28 June, 1645) declared St-Victor autonomous.
Jansenism
found its way into St-Victor, and was combatted by Simon Gourdan, who was
persecuted
. In the eighteenth century its
library
was celebrated, and was open to the public three times a week. The librarian Mulot, who was also grand prior, published a translation of "Daphnis and Chloe". The
abbey's
end was sad. When the
Revolutionary
commissaries questioned the twenty-one religious present, only one, aged 81, affirmed his desire to remain; nine did not reply, eleven left the
monastery
, and the librarian Mulot became a deputy of the Legislative Assembly. The
abbey
was destroyed in November, 1798.
The early history of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, near Paris, is very obscure. In the second half of the fifth century the
clergy
of Paris erected at the instance of
St. Genevieve
in the village of Catulliacus where the
saint
was buried, a
basilica
, administered by a community of
monks
. Pilgrims flocked thither, and, as early as 625, a charter of Clotaire II authorized the
abbot
to receive a legacy. Nevertheless, tradition regards Dagobert I (628-38) as the real founder. According to
Mabillon
, Félibien, and M. Léon Levillain, he merely decorated and embellished the already existing basilica; according to Julian Havet, this early basilica stood at the place called Saint-Denis-de-l'Entrée, west of the present church, and between 623 and 625 Dagobert founded the new
abbey
church, to which the
relics
were removed in 626. Whatever the solution of this problem, with which scholars have occupied themselves since the seventeenth century, Dagobert was the
abbey's
signal benefactor: the altar ornaments, the
tomb
containing the body of St. Denis, the golden cross set with precious stones which stood behind the
high altar
were the work of the goldsmith,
St. Eligius
(Eloi), the king's friend. Dagobert himself desired to be buried at
Saint-Denis
. At the instance of Abbot Fulrad (died 784) Pepin the Short had the
abbey
rebuilt, and here on 28 July, 754,
Pope Stephen II
solemnly administered the royal anointment to Pepin, Queen
Bertha
, and their two sons, and
consecrated
an altar. The new edifice was dedicated on 24 Feb., 775, in the presence of
Charlemagne
. Hilduin, who became
abbot
in 814, wrote the life of St. Denis, and identifies him with St. Denis the Areopagite; During the ninth century the Normans several times levied tribute on and pillaged the
monastery
. During the siege of Paris in 886, the
monks
sought refuge with Archbishop Foulques of
Reims
, taking with them the body of St. Denis. After these disasters the
abbey
was restored and perhaps, as some scholars maintain, entirely rebuilt. St. Gerard, of a noble
family
of the Low Countries, was a
monk
at St-Denis previously to founding the Abbey of Broglie in 1030. In 1106 Paschal II visited the
abbey
, and for a time
Abelard
was a
monk
there.
Suger
, minister of Louis VI and Louis VII, who became
Abbot
of St-Denis in 1122, wished to erect a sumptuous new church; his
architectural
work is known to us through two of his writings, the "Book of his Administration" and the "Treatise on the Consecration of the Church of St. Denis". St-Denis then attracted numerous
pilgrims
, whom
Suger
describes as crowding to the doors, "squeezed as in a press". By a charter of 15 March, 1125,
Suger
released from
mortmain
the people of St-Denis, who in gratitude gave him the money for the reconstruction of the church. The work began doubtless about 1132; the choir was
consecrated
on 11 June, 1144, in the presence of Louis VII, five
archbishops
, and fourteen
bishops
, and the translation of the
relics
took place the same day. The alliance of the Capetians with the
monastery
of St. Denis was thenceforth sealed. Odo of Deuil,
Suger's
successor as
abbot
, was
chaplain
to Louis VII during the
Second Crusade
, of which he wrote a chronicle. The Abbey of St-Denis was the repository of the royal insignia — the crown, sceptre,
main de
justice
, and the garments and ornaments used at the
coronation
of the kings. For each
coronation
the
abbot
brought them to
Reims
. The
oriflamme
was also kept there, and thither repaired
Bl. Joan of Arc
after the
coronation
of Charles VII at
Reims
.
The new Church of St-Denis has an extreme importance for the history of
medieval
architecture. It was the earliest important building in which the pointed arch (
croisée d'ogive
) was used in the
chapels
of the deambulatory, thus inaugurating this wonderful invention of the
Gothic
style. The church exercised also a great influence on the development of the industrial arts: the products of the goldsmith's and enameller's art ordered by
Suger
formed one of the most beautiful treasures of
Christianity
, some remnants of which are still preserved in the Gallery of Apollo at the Louvre. As regards monumental
sculpture
M. André Michel, the art historian, writes that "the grand
chantry
of St-Denis was the decisive studio in the elaboration and, if we may so speak, the proclamation of the new style." In 1231 the religious of St-Denis resolved to reconstruct the basilica, and the chronicler
Guillaume de Nangis
, a
monk
at the
abbey
, says that St. Louis, a friend of their
abbot
Mathieu de Vendôme, advised them to do so. It may be that portions of the edifice built by
Suger
had fallen to ruin, or perhaps St. Louis's plan to erect
tombs
to his predecessors was the origin of the plan. Of
Suger's
building the western
façade
, the deambulatory, the
chapels
of the
apse
, and the
crypt
were retained, the remainder being rebuilt. The work was directed by the architect Pierre de Montereau, thanks to whose genius the
nave
and
transept
form a glorious example of the splendid Gothic art of the thirteenth century. St-Denis was the historical laboratory of the old French monarchy: the
abbot
selected a religious who followed the court as historiographer to the king, and, on the death of each king, the history of his reign, after having been submitted to the chapter, was incorporated in the "Grandes Chroniques". Especially important, as historical sources, are the works of the
monk
Rigord on
Philip Augustus
and that of
Guillaume de Nangis
on St. Louis. On the invention of printing the "Grandes Chroniques" were put in order by Jean Chartier, who completed them with the history of Charles VII and published them in 1476, this being the earliest book known to have been printed in Paris.
From 1529 St-Denis had commendatory
abbots
, the first of whom was Louis Cardinal de Bourbon. The Religious Wars were a disastrous period for the
abbey
. In 1562 and 1567
tombs
were destroyed, the archives ravaged, and the
reliquaries
of the
saints
stripped of their plates of gold and silver.
Catherine de' Medici
planned to erect beside the church a
chapel
for Henry II and herself; François Primatice, Jean Bullant, and Androuet de Cerceau in turn supervised the work on this great mausoleum, which, owing to the civil disturbances, was never finished and was demolished in 1719. The troubles of the League brought about fresh pillages. Here on 25 July, 1593,
Renaud de Beaune
,
Archbishop
of
Bourges
, received the
abjuration
of
Henry IV
. In 1633 the
Benedictines
of the Congregation of St. Maur reformed the
abbey
, and for a time the celebrated
Mabillon
(1632-1707) was guardian of the treasury. In 1686
Louis XIV
transferred the abbatial revenues to the recently founded royal house of St-Cyr. In 1691 the title and dignity of its
abbot
were suppressed, and thenceforth the
abbey
was directed by grand
priors
, dependent on the superior-general of the congregation who resided at the Abbey of St-Germain-des-Prés. These grand
priors
were of right vicars-general of the
archbishops
of Paris. In 1706 the
monk
Félibien (1666-1719) published the history of the
abbey
. In the eighteenth century the
abbey
buildings were entirely rebuilt by the
monks
, and they were about to change completely the Gothic appearance of the church itself when the
Revolution
broke out. St-Denis was then called
Franciade
, the church became first a
temple
of Reason, and then a market-house. In August, 1793, the Convention, on the recommendation of Barère, ordered the destruction of the
tombs
of the kings. Immediately most of the Gothic
tombs
were destroyed, and between 14 and 25 Oct., 1793, the ashes of the Bourbons were scattered to the winds. In 1795 Alexander Lenoir had all the
tombs
that had been spared removed to the Museum of French Monuments.
Napoleon
(20 Feb., 1805) decided that the church should be restored, re-established worship there, and decreed that thenceforth St-Denis should be the burial-place of the emperors. At the Restoration the
tombs
which had been removed to the Museum of French Monuments were restored to St-Denis, but in such a disorderly fashion that
Montalembert
, in a discourse of 1847, called the Church of St. Denis "a museum of bric-A-brac". A truly artistic restoration was accomplished finally (1847-79) by Viollet le Duc.
Of the thirty-two Capetian kings from
Hugh Capet
to Louis XV only three were buried elsewhere than in St-Denis. The series of authentic portraits of the kings of
France
at St-Denis opens with the sepulchral
statue
of Philip III the Bold (died 1285). Until the sixteenth century the royal
tombs
at St-Denis maintained modest proportions, but in that century the church was filled with works of art. The monument of the Dukes of
Orléans
, erected by Louis XII, was the work of four
Genoese
sculptors
; that of Louis XII (died 1515) and Anne of Brittany (died 1514), is the work of the
Juste family
,
Italian
sculptors
residing at
Tours
; the magnificent monument of
Francis I
and Claude of
France
is the work of the great architect Philibert Delorme and of the
sculptor
Pierre Bontemps; that of Henry II and
Catherine de' Medici
, executed under the direction of Primatice, is admired for the
sculptures
of Germain Pilon. The only monument representing the art of the seventeenth century is that of Turenne. The episcopal chapter of St-Denis, created by
Napoleon I
to care for the basilica, was composed of ten canons whose head was the grand almoner. The canons had to be former
bishops
more than fifty years of age. The Restoration created canons of a second order, who were not chosen from among the
bishops
, and the grand almoner received the title of
primicier
(dean) of the chapter. The empire and the Restoration claimed that this chapter, which
Napoleon
had created without taking counsel with
Rome
, should not be subject to the
jurisdiction
of the ordinary. This was the cause of conflict until 1846, when the
pope
issued a
Bull
placing the chapter of St-Germain under the direct supervision of the
Holy See
; the
primate
retained episcopal authority over the church and the house of the Legion of Honour annexed to the church, and the
Archbishop
of Paris had no
spiritual jurisdiction
over either of these buildings. The budget for the chapter of St-Denis was suppressed by the State in 1888. The
theologian
Maret, famous for his writings against the opportuneness of the definition of
infallibility
, was the last
primate
.
Famous pilgrimages
Tomb of St. Genevieve
St. Genevieve
is the patroness of Paris, but after the conversion of the church into a Pantheon of
France's
great men the
saint
had no church in Paris. Since 1803 her
tomb
has been at St-Etienne-du-Mont (built 1517-1620), the burial-place of
Racine
and
Pascal
. There
Pius VII
went to
pray
on 10 January, 1805, and it was the scene of the assassination of
Archbishop Sibour
on 3 January, 1857. The veneration of
St. Genevieve
is expressed in two feasts:
- on her
feast
proper (3 January) and the following eight days a solemn novena takes place at St-Etienne-du-Mont and at the
church
of Nanterre, birthplace of
St. Genevieve
, whither Clotaire II, St. Louis, Blanche of Castile, Louis XIII, and Anne of Austria went to venerate her memory:
- on 26 November, anniversary of the
miracle
whereby, in 1130, a procession of the
relics
of
St. Genevieve
cured many Parisians of the
mal des ardents
(
Miracle des arderts
).
Notre-Dame-des-Victoires
In consequence of the visions granted to Catherine Labouré (who six months previously had become a member of the Sisters of Charity), M. Aladel, assistant of the
Lazarists
, with the approval of Mgr de Quélen, had struck the
"miraculous medal"
of Mary Conceived without Sin, more than 4,000,000 of which were distributed throughout the world within four years. In 1838 Desgenettes,
pastor
of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, organized in that church the Association in
honour
of the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary, which
Gregory XVI
made a confraternity on 24 April, 1838, and the badge of which was the
miraculous medal
. In virtue of another
indult
of
Gregory XVI
(7 Dec., 1838) the Diocese of Paris received the
right
to transfer to the second
Sunday
of
Advent
the solemnity of the feast of the Immaculate Conception. On 10 July, 1894,
Leo XIII
granted to the
Lazarists
, and to the
dioceses
that should request it, the faculty of celebrating yearly on 27 November the manifestation of the Blessed Virgin through the
miraculous medal
. This feast was first celebrated at Paris in the
chapel
of Rue du Bac on 25, 26, and 27 November, 1894. On 27 July, 1897, the
statue
of the
Blessed Virgin
in this
chapel
was
solemnly
crowned
in virtue of a
Brief
of
Leo XIII
(2 March, 1897). In 1899 the number of Masses celebrated by foreign
priests
at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires was 3031; the number of Communions, 110,000; intentions 1,305,980, or an average of 3578 per day.
Montmartre
Prior to the ninth century there were two churches on the hill of Montmartre — one, half way up, stood on the traditional site of the martyrdom of St. Denis, while the other, on the summit, was said to replace a temple dedicated to Mars. In 1095 these two churches became the
property
of a
monastery
occupied first (1095-1134) by the
monks
of St-Martin-des-Champs, and from 1034 to the
Revolution
by the
Benedictines
. The church on the summit was rebuilt in the twelfth century, and
consecrated
on 21 April, 1147, by
Pope Eugenius III
with
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
as
deacon
, and Peter the Venerable,
Abbot
of Cluny, as
subdeacon
.
Alexander III
visited it in 1162; St. Thomas à Becket in 1170;
St. Thomas Aquinas
,
Bl. Joan of Arc
, St. Ignatius,
St. Francis Xavier
,
St. Vincent de Paul
,
Olier
, and Blessed John Eudes
prayed
there. During the
war
of 1870-71 MM. Legentil and
Rohault de Fleury
issued from
Poitiers
an appeal in behalf of the erection at Paris of a sanctuary to the Sacred Heart to obtain the release of the
pope
and the
salvation
of
France
. On 23 July, 1873, the National Assembly passed a law declaring the construction of this sanctuary a matter of public utility. After a meeting in which seventy architects took part Abadie was charged with its construction, in Byzantine style. Cardinal Guibert laid the
corner-stone
on 16 June, 1875, and said the first
Mass
in the
crypt
on 21 April, 1881. Cardinal Richard blessed the church on 5 June, 1891, and on 17 October 1899, blessed the cross surmounting the main
dome
.
Pilgrimage to the church of St. Francis
Pilgrimage to the Church of St. Francis in
honour
of the famous
Miracle
des Billettes
in 1290, when blood flowed from a Host which had been profaned by a
Jew
and Christ appeared above the receptacle where the
Jew
had thrown the Host.
Pilgrimage to the chapel of the Picpus
A
Pilgrimage
in
honour
of the
statue
of Notre-Dame-de-Paix which the famous
Capuchin
Joyeuse, known as
Père Ange
, gave to his
convent
(sixteenth century).
Pilgrimage of Notre-Dame-des-Vertus
A
Pilgrimage
at the
church
of Aubervilliers (dating from 1336), whither Louis XIII, St. Ignatius, Blessed John Eudes,
St. Francis de Sales
,
St. Vincent de Paul
,
St. John Baptist de la Salle
, and
Bossuet
went to
pray
.
Pilgrimage of Notre-Dame-des-Miracles
A Pilgrimage at Saint-Maur, dating from the erection of a
chapel
of the
Blessed Virgin
by the Abbot St. Babolein about 640. The future
Pope Martin IV
,
Philip Augustus
, St. Louis, Emperor Charles IV of
Germany
, and
Olier
prayed
there.
Pilgrimage in honour of St. Vincent de Paul
A
Pilgrimage
to the
parish
church of Clichy, built by the
saint
.
Saints of Paris
A number of
saints
are especially connected with the history of the Diocese of Paris: Sts. Agoard and Aglibert,
martyred
at Cretil; St. Lucan,
martyred
at Paris; St. Eugene, who according to the legend was sent by Saint Denis to
Spain
, founded the
Church
of Toledo, and was
martyred
at Deuil; St. Yon, a disciple of St. Denis; St. Lucian, companion of St. Denis,
martyred
at
Beauvais
(third century); St. Rieul, founder (c. 300) of the
Church
of Senlis, visited and encouraged the
Christian
community of Paris; St. Martin (316-400),
Bishop
of
Tours
, while at Paris, cured a
leper
by embracing him; Sts. Alda (Aude) and Célinie, companions of
St. Genevieve
; the
nun
St. Aurea, disciple of
St. Genevieve
(fifth century); St. Germain (380-448),
Bishop
of Auxerre, whose name is linked with the history of
St. Genevieve
; St. Séverin,
Abbot
of Agaune (died 508), who was summoned to Paris to cure
Clovis
of a serious illness; Queen St. Clotilde (died 545); St. Leonard, a noble of
Clovis's
court, who became a
hermit
in Limousin and died about 559; St. Columbanus (540-615), who performed a
miracle
during his stay in Paris; St. Cloud (died 560), grandson of St. Clotilde, who was made a
monk
by St. Séverin; St. Radegund (519-87), wife of Clotaire I; St. Eloi (Eligius, 588-659), founder of the
convent
of
St. Martial
, minister of Clotaire II and of Dagobert;
St. Bathilde
, Queen of
France
(died 680); St. Domnolus (sixth century),
Abbot
of St-Laurent, Paris, prior to becoming
Bishop
of
Le Mans
; St. Bertechramnus (Bertrand, 553-623),
Archdeacon
of Paris, later
Bishop
of
Le Mans
; St. Aure, virgin (7th century), first
Abbess
of
St. Martial
; St. Merry,
Benedictine
Abbot (died 700);
St. Ouen
(609-86), who was a friend of
St. Eligius
and died
Archbishop
of
Rouen
; St. Sulpice (seventh century),
chaplain
of Clotaire II, died as
Archbishop
of
Bourges
; St. Doctrovée (seventh century), first
Abbot
of St. Vincent; St Leu,
Bishop
of
Sens
(seventh century), who on his way through Paris released a number of
prisoners
; St. John of Matha (1160-1213), who was a student of the
University of Paris
, and, while saying his first
Mass
in the
chapel
of the
Bishop
of Paris, had the vision which induced him to found the Trinitarians; St. William, canon of Paris, who died in 1209 as
Archbishop
of
Bourges
; Bl. Reginald (1160-1220), professor of canon law at the
University of Paris
;
St. Bonaventure
(1221-74), student and afterwards professor at the
University of Paris
;
St. Thomas Aquinas
(1227-74), successively student, professor, and preacher at the
University of Paris
;
Bl. Gregory X
(
pope
1271-6), doctor of the
University of Paris
;
St. Yves
(1253-1303), who studied
law
at the
University of Paris
;
Bl. Innocent V
(
pope
1276), who succeeded
St. Thomas Aquinas
as professor of
theology
at the
University of Paris
; St. Louis (1215-70), and his sister Bl. Isabelle (1224-70), foundress of the Abbey of
Poor Clares
of Longchamps, who later called themselves Urbanists because their rule was confirmed by
Urban V
; Bl. Peter of Luxemburg (1369-87), canon of Paris before becoming
Bishop
of
Metz
; Blessed
Urban V
(
pope
1362-70), sometime professor of canon law at the
University of Paris
; Bl. Jeanne-Marie de Maille (1332-1414), who came to Paris to make known to the king her prophetical visions concerning
France
; Bl. Jeanne de Valois (1464-1505), daughter of Louis XI and wife of Louis XII, foundress of the Annunciades;
St. Ignatius Loyola
(1491-1556);
St. Francis Xavier
(1506-52), who studied at the Collège de St-Barbe and made his
vows
as a
Jesuit
at Montmartre;
Mme Acarie
,
venerated
as Bl. Marie de l'Incarnation (1565-1618), a Parisian by birth, who, under the protection of the Duchesse de Longueville, established at Paris the
Carmelites
of the Faubourg St-Jacques; St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), who was
educated
at the Collège de Clermont, Paris, and later preached there on two occasions;
St. Vincent de Paul
(1576-1660), who, having received from Jean-François de Gondi the Collège des Bons Enfants, founded there the
Congregation of the Mission
; Bl. Louis Grignion de Montfort (seventeenth century), who studied at St-Sulpice and preached several times at Paris.
Special features of ecclesiastical Paris
The
feast
of the Immaculate Conception was celebrated at Paris as early as the thirteenth century by the students of the English and Norman nations in the
Church
of St-Séverin, and a confraternity was established there in
honour
of the Immaculate Conception in the fourteenth century. Even in the last quarter of the twelfth century the poet Adam, canon regular of St-Victor, seems to have accepted this
dogma
. The
University of Paris
opposed it until the arrival of
Duns Scotus
, who came to debate the question with the
Dominican
doctors
at Paris. The
belief
spread during the fourteenth century, and the
Dominican
Jean de Montson, having maintained in 1387 that the theory was contrary to
faith
, was
excommunicated
. The
doctors
of the
university
were among those most eager to hasten at the Council of Basle the investigations preparatory to the definition of the Immaculate Conception, which this council, in the meantime become
schismatical
,
promulgated
in 1439. At last, on 9 March, 1497, the
university
issued a
decree
obliging
all its members to promise on
oath
to profess and defend the
doctrine
of the Immaculate Conception, and declaring the contrary opinion
false
, impious, and
erroneous
. In 1575 it took issue with the famous
Jesuit
Maldonatus
, who still regarded it as an optional opinion, but it refrained from formally branding as
heretics
those who did not admit the
doctrine
, as laid down by
Benedict XIV
in his treatise, "De festis". The procession in
honour
of the Assumption was inaugurated at Paris in 1638, when Louis XIII placed his kingdom under the protection of the Blessed Virgin. Devotion to the departed
souls
is perhaps the most deeply rooted form of Parisian
piety
. Even in the eighteenth century the
clocheteurs
of the dead traversed the streets at night, ringing their bells and calling:
Réveillez vous, gens qui dormez,
Priez Dieu pour les trépassés.
The Association of Our Lady of Suffrage for the Dead, founded in 1838 at the Church of St. Merry by Archbishop Quélen and raised to an archconfraternity in 1857 by
Pius IX
, is still flourishing. Several expiatory
chapels
exist in Paris:
- (1) in memory of Louis XVI and the members of his
family
who fell victims to the Terror;
- (2) in memory of the 1300
persons
beheaded at the barrier of the Place du Trône (including the 16
Carmelites
of Compiègne) and buried in the cemetery of Picpus;
- (3) in memory of the Duc d'Orléans, who was killed in 1842 in a carriage accident;
- (4) in memory of the victims of the dreadful fire at the Charity Bazar (4 May, 1897).
Religious congregations
Prior to the application of the Law of Associations of 1901, there was a large number of religious congregations in Paris. Among those having their mother-house in the city were: the
Assumptionists
, who preserved in their
chapel
a
statue
of Notre-Dame-de-Salut which, according to tradition, smiled on
Duns Scotus
in 1304 when he was about to preach on the Immaculate Conception; the
Eudists
; the Missionary Priests of Mercy (founded in 1808 by Père Rauzau), who were the founders of the
French
parish
in New York; the
Oblates of Mary Immaculate
(founded in 1816 by
Eugene de Mazenod
), the apostles of Upper and Lower
Canada
, New Brittany,
Oregon
,
British Columbia
,
Texas
, and Mexico; the
Oratorians
, founded in 1611 by
Pierre de Bérulle
. the Priests of Picpus (founded in 1805 by Abbé Coudrin), the founders of missions in Oceania — four of its members were
martyred under the Commune
(1871), Pères Radique, Tuffier, Rouchouze, and Tardieu; the Fathers of the
Blessed Sacrament
, founded by Père Eymard; the
Brothers of the Christian Schools
, founded by
St. John Baptist de la Salle
; the Marianist Brothers founded at
Bordeaux
in 1817 for the
education
of the young; the Nuns of the Assumption, founded in 1839 under the patronage of
Archbishop Affre
for the
education
of young girls; the Sisters of Charitable Instruction of the Child Jesus (of St. Maur) for nursing and teaching, which was founded in 1666 by Père Barré, O. Minim., and has missions in
Japan
,
Siam
, and Malacca; the Sisters of Mary Help, founded in 1854 for the care of young working-women; the
Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge
(of St. Michael), founded in 1641 by Venerable Eudes to receive
voluntary
penitents; the Religious of the Mother of God, a teaching order founded by
Olier
in 1648; the
Religious of the Cenacle
founded at Paris in 1826; the Religious of the Sacred Heart, founded in the beginning of the nineteenth century by
Madame Barat
. the Sisters of Picpus, a teaching and contemplative order founded at
Poitiers
and removed to Paris in 1804; the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, a teaching order founded by
Père Ratisbonne
.
Prior to 1901 there were also at Paris:
Carmelites
Dominicans
, several of whom were
martyred during the Commune
(martyrs of Arcueil);
Franciscans
;
Jesuits
, five of whom were
martyred during the Commune
(viz. Pères
Olivaint
, Clerc,
de Bengy
, Ducoudray, and Caubert);
Marists
; Priests of Mercy; Missionaries of the Sacred Heart; and
Redemptorists
. Important
educational
works brought to an end by the
law
of 1901 were the boarding-schools of the Abbaye aux Bois, Oiseaux, and Roule, conducted by the
Canons Regular of St. Augustine
, a congregation founded at the end of the sixteenth century by
St. Peter Fourier
. The same law also terminated the existence of two great
Carmelite
convents
— the one, founded in 1604 in the Faubourg St-Jacques by Marie de l'Incarnation, had witnessed the
Lenten
preaching of
Bossuet
in 1661, the
vows
of Mme de la Vallière in 1675, and the funeral oration of the Princess Palatine in 1685; the other, founded in 1664 and established in the Avenue de Saxe in 1854, possessed a
miraculous
crucifix, rescued intact from the flames at the capture of
Besançon
by
Louis XIV
. Paris still possesses two Visitation
monasteries
, which date respectively from 1619 and 1626. They were founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane-Frances de Chantal, and in the middle of the nineteenth century one of them had as superior Venerable Marie de Sales Chappuis. The Sisters of Charity, instituted in 1629 by
St. Vincent de Paul
and Venerable Mme Le Gras (
née
Louise de Marillac) and having their mother-house at Paris, still have the
right
to exercise their nursing activity, but are legally bound to discontinue gradually their work as teachers. Among the still existing congregations of
women
are: the Congregation of Adoration of Reparation, founded in 1848 by Mother Marie-Thérèse of the Heart of Jesus; the Helpers of the Souls in Purgatory, founded in 1856; the Helpers of the Immaculate Conception, founded in 1859 by the Abbé Largentier for the care of the sick in their homes; the
Benedictine
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
, founded in 1653 by Catherine de Bar — a second house was founded in 1816 by the Princess Louise de Bourbon-Condé (Mother Marie-Joseph de la Miséricorde).
Seminaries
The Seminary of St-Sulpice, founded by Oiler in 1642, had been supplemented since 1814 by the house at Issy, in the suburbs of Paris, reserved for the teaching of
philosophy
. The Paris
seminary
was seized by the State in virtue of the recent
laws
and the present
theological
school
of the Parisian
clergy
is located at Issy. The
seminary
of Foreign Missions was founded in 1663. Twenty-eight houses were confided to it by the
Holy See
. This
seminary
belongs to the
Society of Foreign Missions
and is still authorized by the State, as also is the Seminary of the Holy Ghost, located in the mother-house of the Congregations of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate Heart of Mary — the former was founded in 1703 by Poullard Desplace, the latter in 1841 by
Venerable Francis-Mary-Paul Libermann
, and the two were merged in 1848. This
seminary
provides
priests
for the evangelization of the
negroes
in
Africa
and the colonies. Neither has the State disturbed the Congregations of the Mission of St-Lazarus (
Lazarists
), founded by
St. Vincent de Paul
, with its mother-house at Paris. They devote themselves to the evangelization of the poor by means of missions and to the foreign missions. For a long time their
chapel
held the body of
St. Vincent de Paul
, now removed to
Belgium
. The
Lazarist
Blessed Jean-Gabriel Perboyre,
martyred
in
China
, is
venerated
here. With regard to the
Irish College
in Paris see IRISH COLLEGES.
Other religions
AS early as 1512
Lefèvre d'Etaples
, at the Collège du Cardinal Lemoine, and Briçonnet,
Abbot
of St-Germain-des-Prés and shortly afterwards
Bishop
of Meaux, spread at Paris certain
theological
ideas
which prepared the way for
Protestantism
. In 1521
Luther's
book, "The Babylonian Captivity", was condemned by the Sorbonne. In 1524 Jacques Pavannes (or Pauvert), a disciple of
Lefèvre
, underwent capital punishment for having attacked the
veneration of the Blessed Virgin
,
purgatory
, and
holy water
; the same penalty was inflicted on Louis de Berquin in 1529. Until 1555 the
Protestants
of Paris had no
pastor
, but in that year they assembled at the house of one of their number, named La Ferrière. As he had a child to
baptize
, the gathering elected as
pastor
Jean g Maçon, a young man of twenty-two years, who had studied
law
. He exercised his ministry at Paris until 1562, when he took up his residence as
pastor
at Angers. The first general synod of the Reformed Church of
France
was held at Paris from 26 to 28 May, 1558, and drew up a confession of
faith
— later called the Confession of
La Rochelle
, because it only received its final form at the eighteenth
national synod
convened at
La Rochelle
in 1607. In 1560 a number of
Protestants
perished at Paris, among them the magistrate Anne du Bourg. It is estimated that the Reformed Church of Paris had 40,000 members in 1564. In 1572 took place the massacre of St. Bartholomew. The Edict of July, 1573, having authorized the
Protestants
of Paris to assemble at a distance of two leagues from the city, they held their meetings at Noisy le Sec. In 1606
Henry IV
permitted them to build a church at Charenton. During the seventeenth century the Reformed Church of Paris was administered by the
pastors
Dumoulin, Mestrezat, Durand, and Montigny. At the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) Pastor Claude was compelled to leave Paris; Pastors Malzac, Giraud, and Givry, who endeavoured despite the revocation to maintain a
Protestant
church at Paris, were
imprisoned
in 1692. During the eighteenth century the
chaplains
attached to the embassies of
Protestant
princes gave spiritual assistance to the
Protestants
of the city. Marron,
chaplain
at the
Dutch
embassy, became
pastor
in Paris when Louis XVI
promulgated
the edict of toleration (1787). A
decree
of 1802 gave over to the
Protestant
sect
the old church of the Visitandines in the Rue St-Antoine (built by
Mansart
); one of 1811 gave them the church of the
Oratorians
in the Rue St-Honoré, while the July Monarchy gave them the old Church of Notre-Dame-de-Pentemont, which under the old régime had belonged to the Augustinian Sisters of the Incarnate Word of the
Blessed Sacrament
. At present the Reformed Church possesses nineteen places of worship in Paris and seventeen in the suburbs; the
Lutherans
, eleven places of worship in Paris and eight in the suburbs; the Protestant Free Churches, four places of worship; the
Baptists
, four churches in Paris and one in the suburbs. The American Episcopal,
Anglican
,
Scotch
, Congregationalist, and Wesleyan Churches conduct services in English. There are in Paris about 50,000
Jews
.
Public assistance and public charity
Under the old régime, what is now called "Public Assistance" included several distinct departments:
- (1) that of the Hôtel-Dieu, one of the oldest
hospitals
in
Europe
, doubtless founded by the Bishop St. Landry after the epidemic of 651. It was at first directed by the canons of Notre-Dame, and after 1505 by a commission of citizens with whom
Louis XIV
associated, together with the
Archbishop
of Paris, several representatives of the Government and of the chief judiciary bodies. This department undertook the administration of the Hospital for Incurables, the Hospital of St. Louis, and that of St. Anne;
- (2) department of the General Hospital, created by
Louis XIV
in 1656 for the sick, the aged, children, and beggars, and with which were connected the infirmaries of Pitié, Bicêtre, the Salpètrière, Vaugirard, the
foundling hospital
, and that of the Holy Ghost;
- (3) several independent
hospitals
, e.g. Cochin Hospital, founded in 1680 by the Abbé Cochin,
pastor
of St-Jacques, and the Necker Hospital, established in 1779 at the initiative of Mme Necker;
- (4) the Bureau of Charity, dependent on the
parishes
;
- (5) the central Bureau of the Poor (
grand bureau des pauvres
), established under
Francis I
for the relief of the indigent. It was presided over and directed by the
procureur général
of the Parlement and levied a yearly "alms tax" on all the inhabitants of Paris. It administered the infirmary of Petites Maisons.
The
Revolution
effected a radical change in this system. The central
Bureau des Pauvres
was at first replaced by forty-eight beneficent committees (
comités de bienfaisance
); these were replaced in 1816 by twelve bureaux of charity, which in 1830 took the name of
bureaux de bienfaisance
and number twenty since 1860. While in the communes of
France
all the
hospital
departments are under an administration distinct from that of the bureau of beneficence, at Paris, in virtue of the
law
of 10 Jan., 1849, the General Administration of Public Assistance directs both the
hospitals
and the departments for relief at home. At present the Department of Public Assistance directs 31
hospitals
, 14 being general
hospitals
, 7 special, 9 children's
hospitals
, and 1 insane asylum. At the laicization of the
hospitals
, the
hospital
of St. Joseph, conducted by the Sisters of
St. Vincent de Paul
, was opened in 1884 under the patronage of the
Archbishop
of Paris; that of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, in care of the Augustine., was founded by Abbé Carton,
pastor
of St-Pierre-de-Montrouge and bequeathed by him in 1887 to the
Archbishop
of Paris. The
hospital
of Notre-Dame-de-Perpétuel-Secours at Lavallois is conducted by the
Dominican
Sisters. The St-Jacques, Hahnemann, St-François, and St-Michel
hospitals
are also in the hands of congregations. The Villepinte Institution, in charge of the Sisters of Marie Auxiliatrice, cares for children and young
women
suffering from tuberculosis. The Marie-Thérèse infirmary was founded for aged or infirm
priests
by the wife of Châteaubriand. The
Little Sisters of the Poor
have nine houses in the diocese. The Brothers of
St. John of God
maintain a private
hospital
and an asylum for incurable young men. The Institution of the Ladies of Calvary, founded at
Lyons
in 1842 by Mme Gamier and established at Paris in 1874, is conducted by
widows
for the care of the cancerous, and receives into its infirmaries patients whom no other
hospital
will admit; it also has houses at
Lyons
,
Marseilles
, St. Etienne, and
Rouen
. The
Little Sisters of the Assumption
, nurses of the
poor
, who have nine houses in the
diocese
, stay night and day without pay in the houses of the sick poor. The same is done by the Sisters of Notre-Dame of the Rue Cassini in the homes of poor
women
in their confinement. Other orders for the care of the sick in their homes are the
Franciscan
nursing sisters (7 houses) and the Sisters Servants of the Poor (4 houses).
Among the institutions now dependent on the State, the foundation of which was formerly the glory of the
Church
, must be mentioned that of
Quinze Vingts
for the blind. As early as the eleventh century there was a confraternity for the blind; St. Louis built for it a house and a church, gave it a perpetual revenue, and decreed that the number of the
Quinze Vingts
(300 blind) should be maintained complete. When the king was
canonized
in 1297 the blind took him as their patron (see
EDUCATION OF THE BLIND
). The
Catholic
institutions of Paris for the relief of the poor and the uplifting of the labouring classes are very numerous. For the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
see
CONGREGATION OF PRIESTS OF THE MISSION
. The Philanthropic Society, founded in 1780 under the protection of Louis XVI, established dispensaries, economical kitchens, night shelters, and settlement houses. The Central Office of Charitable Institutions investigates the condition of workmen and the
poor
, and conducts employment and restoration bureaux. The Association of Ladies of Charity, established (1629) in the
parish
of St-Sauveur by
St. Vincent de Paul
for the visitation of the sick poor and reconstituted in 1840, has given rise to the Society for the Sick Poor, the Society for the Sick Poor in the Suburbs, and the Society for the Visitation of the Poor in the Hospitals. Most
parishes
have their organizations of charitable
women
who, under the
pastor's
supervision, distribute clothing and visit the poor. The
Société de Charité Maternelle
, which dates from 1784, when it was patronized by
Marie Antoinette
, assists married
women
in their confinement without regard to creed. In each quarter of Paris
women
visitors determine the
families
deserving assistance. In 1898 the
society
assisted 2797
women
and 2853 children. The
Association des Mères de Famille
, founded in 1836 by Mme Badenier, assists at childbirth
women
who do not meet the conditions required by the
Société de Charité Maternelle
or who are numbered among the disreputable poor. The
Œuvre des Faubourgs
, through a number of
women
, visits 2000
families
and 8000 children in the Paris suburbs. The
Œuvre de la Miséricorde
(Work of Mercy), founded in 1822, assists the disreputable poor. An organization founded in 1841 by Mgr Christophe, later
Bishop
of
Soissons
, helps convalescent lunatics. The objects of the
Œuvre de l'Hospitalité du Travail
are to offer a free temporary shelter without distinction of creed or nationality to every homeless
woman
or girl who has determined to work for an honourable livelihood, to employ its clients at useful tasks, to endeavour to revive the habit of working in those who have lost it, and to assist them in securing honourable employment which will also enable them to provide for the future. This organization, founded in 1881 under the direction of Sister St. Antoine, a member of the Order of Calvary, between 1881 and 1903 gave shelter to 70,240
women
. In 1894 Sister St. Antoine* annexed to it the
Œuvre du Travail à Domicile pour les Mères de Famille
(Association for procuring home-work for mothers of
families
) which between 1892 and 1902 assisted 7449 mothers. The
Maison de Travail
for men, founded in 1892 by M. de Laubespin, performs the same service for unemployed and homeless men, and is also in charge of the Sisters of Calvary.
The
Catholics
of Paris have taken part in the syndicate movement by the creation in 1887 of the syndicate of commercial and industrial employees, by the organization of the
Aiguille
(a professional association of patronesses and
women
employees and workers on clothing), and by the
Union Centrale
, made up of five professional syndicates of working-girls, business employees, seamstresses, servant girls, and nurses, with "La Ruche syndicale" as their organ. The great Society of St. Nicholas, founded in 1827 by
Mgr de Bervanger
and Count Victor de Noailles and directed by a staff of
Catholic
laymen
, has four houses (Paris, Issy, Igny, and Buzenval), where it gives a professional
education
to boys whom it adopts as early as their eighth year. The Society of the Friends of Childhood, founded in 1828, is concerned with the
education
and apprenticeship of poor boys. The
Ecole commerciale de Francs Bourgeois
, created in 1843 by the
Brothers of the Christian Schools
, prepares pupils for commercial, industrial, and administrative professions. Numerous homes and restaurants for young working girls have been founded by
Catholics
. The Charitable Society of St. Francis Regis was founded in 1826 by M. Gassin to facilitate the religious and
civil marriage
of the poor of the
diocese
and the legitimatization of their natural children. The day-nurseries, which care for children from 15 days to 3 years of age while their mothers are employed, date from M. Marbeau's foundation in 1844. The Sisters of St. Paul have founded in the
parishes
of St-Vincent-de-Paul and St-Séverin a
society
for the relief of mothers who wish their children to remain at home. The
Œuvre de l'Adoption
was founded in 1859 by Abbé Maitrias to gather as many
orphans
as possible. Out of so many other associations, the following must be mentioned: the Association des Jeunes Economes which, under the direction of the Sisters of
St. Vincent de Paul
, uses the generous donations of a large number of young
women
for the apprenticing and employment of poor girls; the Society of St. Anne, founded in 1824; the Society for Abandoned Children, founded in 1803; the Society for the Adoption of Abandoned Little Girls, founded in 1879 (all concerned with finding homes for
orphans
); the Society of the Child Jesus, which shelters during their convalescence poor girls who have been discharged from
hospitals
.
There is a recent tendency towards the complete reorganization of
Catholic
charity in a single quarter by the centralization of all charitable departments for the development and protection of
family
life. For example the Fresh Air Society for Mothers and Children, founded by Mlle Chaptal in 1901, includes:
- (1) a department for the investigation of home conditions;
- (2) one for free consultations for poor mothers and their nursing children;
- (3) one for assisting mothers whose confinement takes place at home;
- (4) one for the distribution of tickets for meat, cereal, or farinaceous food for
women
who have been confined;
- (5) the fresh air department, which sends a number of the
women
of the district into the country.
The Society of Ste-Rosalie also combines a number of admirable works which perpetuate the memory of the good done in the Faubourg St-Marcel during the July Monarchy by Sister Rosalie Rendu, who worked in collaboration with Vicomte Armand de Mélun. The Working Women's Society of Our Lady of the Rosary was the nucleus of a flourishing
parish
in a district previously deprived of all religious help. The Union Familiale, founded at Charonne by Mlle Gahéry in 1899, has completely transformed the district; it has established a Fröbelian nursery for the small children, and receives children after
school
hours; since 1904 it assembles
families
in a
family
educational
circle; it organizes groups of "little mothers," little girls of ten, who every Thursday take care of 3 or 4 children; it has gardening classes and a department for trousseaux, and since 1900 it has had vacation colonies, known as fresh air
societies
. The original congregation of the Blind Sisters of St. Paul, founded in 1851 by Abbé Juge and Anne Bergunion, looks after blind young
women
.
According to the report of the Abbé Fonsagrives to the Diocesan Congress of 1908, the Archdiocese of Paris has 356
Catholic
patronages
, of which 63 are for magpupils of the free
schools
, 79 for male pupils of the lay
schools
, 101 for
female
pupils of the free
schools
, 113 for
female
pupils of the lay
schools
. At that
date
lay patronages were only 245. The Society for the Patronage of Young Working Girls, founded in 1851, receives young girls after their First Communion. The Sisters of the Presentation of
Tours
conduct the association and
society
for mutual relief for young business
women
; the Sisters
Servants of Mary
and Sisters of the Cross secure situations for servants. The Sisters of
St. Vincent de Paul
have
societies
called "patronages internes", which shelter working-girls who are
orphans
or who live at a distance from their
families
. The
Œuvre des Petites Préservées et le Vestiaire des Petits Prisonniers
, founded in 1892 by the Comtesse de Biron, looks after the preservation of young girls discharged from
prison
. The
Catholic
International Society for the Protection of Young Women, organized at
Freiburg
in 1897 after the Organization of the Protestant International Union of the Friends of Young Women, in 1905 alone gave shelter to 11,919 young girls in Paris.
There is at present a great renewal in
Catholic
methods of charity and relief at Paris, the spirit of which is shown in the report concerning
Catholic
relief
societies
read (Aug., 1910) at the International Congress of Public and Private Relief held at
Copenhagen
under the presidency of President Loubet: "The great originality of
Catholic
relief work in recent years consists in the multiplication of works for social
education
. This arises more and more from the 'patriarchal' conception of these undertakings. The modern wish and tendency is to give him who suffers a share in his own relief, to give him a collaborative or directing part in the effort which is being made to assist and uplift him. Henceforth the favourite
works of charity
among
Catholics
will be those known as preventive. To prevent misery by an hygienic, domestic, professional
education
is the object of the founders of modern works of relief. They are concerned not only with the strife against the consequences of misery but with that against its production. Without neglecting individual
alms
,
Catholic
charity aims especially at social relief; it prefers to precede misery to prevent it, rather than to follow it to relieve it; it prefers to uplift
families
rather than assist them, to help them when they are stumbling rather than to raise them up when they have fallen; it prefers to help them actively to better working conditions, than to relieve passively the results of these
evil
conditions. All instruction imparted in organizations for
Catholic
youth and in the
Catholic
patronages
of Paris is impregnated with this apparently new spirit which on closer view is seen to be merely a return to the
Christian
solidarity of the
Middle Ages
."
Religious renewal of the twentieth century
In 1905 at the end of the concordatory period the Diocese of Paris had 3,599,870 inhabitants, 38
parishes
, 104
succursales
, 7 vicariates, formerly remunerated by the State. Since the separation of
Church and State
, the
religious
character
of Paris shows signs of renewal. Statistics of the religious and civil burials from 1883 to 1903, drawn up by the Abbé Raffin, afford a very exact
idea
of the religious condition of Paris at the end of the nineteenth century. The largest proportion of civil burials, 23 per cent, was reached in 1884. At the end of the nineteenth century the proportion of civil burials had fallen to 18 per cent; from 1901 to 1903, they showed a tendency to rise to 20 per cent. Civil funerals take place chiefly among the poor. For example in 1888 in the five most costly classes of burials the number of civil burials did not exceed 45 per cent; on the other hand, the ninth class, which is the cheapest, and the free class show 25 to 30 per cent. At present among the wealthy classes there is a slight increase in the number of civil funerals, and a slight decrease among the
working
classes, but the fact remains that, despite the gratuitousness of religious assistance in the case of the
poor
, the average number of 10,000 civil funerals which take place yearly at Paris consists chiefly of funerals of the poor. One reason for this is the insufficiency of religious assistance in the
hospitals
. Although more than a third of the Parisians die in
hospitals
, there are only about thirty
hospital
chaplains
, and these the management does not permit to approach the sick unless they are summoned. Another reason lies in the excessive size of suburban
parishes
and in the difficulty of reaching an immense fluctuating population. At the beginning of the twentieth century Notre-Dame-de-Ménilmontant had 70,000, St-Pierre-de-Montrouge 83,000, Notre-Dame-de-Clignancourt 120,000 inhabitants. For a long time these enormous
parishes
had no more
priests
than the smaller ones in the centre of Paris. At St-Ambroise there were 8 to 10
priests
for 80,000
souls
, while St-Thomas-d'Aquin had 8
priests
for 14,000, and St-Sulpice 17 for 38,000 (see the report of M. Thureau Dangin, permanent secretary of the
French Academy
, concerning the
Œuvre des chapelles de secours
). M. Thureau Dangin calculated in 1905 that Paris, with its 522
pastors
or
curates
, had an average of 37,000 or 38,000
souls
to a
parish
, while at
Lyons
there was 1
priest
for every 3000
souls
, at
Antwerp
1 for every 500, at New York 1 for every 1500.
The realization of this dearth and its dangers caused the organization of the
Œuvre des Séminaires
as early as 1882 to increase and facilitate vocations, and in 1905 Cardinal Richard pointed out the urgent necessity of the creation of about thirty new
parishes
or of
chapelles de secours
. At present the
diocesan
administration is most actively engaged in the organization of these
chapelles de secours
. Every year a dignitary of the
French Academy
or of the Institute presents a report of the progress made, MM. François Coppée, Thureau Dangin, de Mun, d'Haussonville, Georges Picot, and Etienne Lamy having been heard in turn. The Christian Doctrine Society (
Œuvre des Catéchismes
) founded in 1885 by Cardinal Richard was erected into a confraternity by
Leo XIII
on 30 May, 1893, with which all the
catechetical
societies
of
France
may be affiliated. This
society
is formed of
voluntary
catechists and promoters paying dues. In addition to the multiplication of places of worship, special religious services have been organized for certain classes of
persons
. For example, the missionary work among young seamstresses (
Midinettes
) has developed greatly between 1908 and 1910; it consists of short instructions between 12:35 and 12:50 p.m., so that the young
women
may return punctually to work. More than 5000 working girls have profited by these missions. The Society of Diocesan Missions, founded in 1886 by Cardinal Richard, supports from 18 to 20 missionaries, who according to the report of their superior, the Abbé Gibergues, made to the Diocesan Congress of 1908, have brought back to the
Church
more than 40,000
persons
in less than a quarter of a century. Lastly, the Archdiocese of Paris has assumed the direction of the
Catholic
social movement. In 1910 a social secretariat was organized, as a bureau of information and headquarters for social undertakings, and the
archbishop
has interested himself actively in the abolition of the night-work of bakers, addressing a letter to the
parochial
committees to arouse
Catholic
sentiment in favour of the claims of these workmen, and on 21 December, 1908, presiding at the meeting organized by the
Jeunesse catholique française
for the suppression of this work.
An interesting organization from the social point of view is that of the provincial associations formed at Paris under
Catholic
auspices to bring together the immigrants from each province, to assist them to maintain close ties among themselves, and to procure spiritual help in the loneliness of the great city. In 1892 was founded the
society
La Bretagne
, and in 1895 the
Union aveyronnaise
. The latter, which had 1600 members in 1908, supports eight sisters who, in 1908 alone, spent 2641 days or nights with sick
Aveyronnais
. In imitation of this association were founded successively the
Union lozérienne
, the
Association des Dames limousines et creusoises
, the
Union lyonnaise et forésienne
, the
Union pyrénéenne
, the
Alliance catholique savoisienne
, and many others. There is a special
society
for the Bretons residing at Paris, which provides sermons and lectures in the Breton tongue. All the provincial unions are federated under the presidency of the
Catholic
economist
, M. Henri Joly, a member of the Institut. A list of these associations has been affixed in recent times to the doors of all the churches in Paris. All these undertakings for the development of
Christian
life in Paris are studied and developed by the Diocesan Committee organized on 1 March, 1905, with a double aim:
- (1) "to sustain, promote, and unite under the
archbishop's
authority all movements concerning the religious, moral, social, and even material welfare of the
diocese
;"
- (2) "to promote the formation of
parochial
committees modelled on and connected with itself".
It is divided into five commissions, dealing respectively with works of religion and
piety
, instruction and
education
, perseverance and patronage, charitable and social works, and with the press and propaganda. At the beginning of 1910 there were 67
parochial
committees, nearly half the
parishes
being already provided with them. Since 1905
diocesan
congresses have taken place yearly. That of 1909 was especially concerned with the labour of
women
, with organizations for instruction of youth, provincial and journalistic organizations. That of 1910 dealt exclusively with liberty of teaching, the formation and recruiting of teachers, and with
school
books.
Catholic instruction in Paris in the twentieth century
The suppression of the teaching congregations and the gradual but rapid closing of the establishments directed by them was a serious blow to the prosperity of the independent
schools
in the Archdiocese of Paris. In October, 1904, Cardinal Richard instituted a
diocesan
committee of "free instruction", which exhorted all the male and
female
teachers in private institutions to form separate
diocesan
associations. Mutual-aid
societies
were established in 1909 to provide for the future of these teachers, male and
female
, and in 1910 the diocese
promulgated
a regulation fixing the conditions of their promotion and granting certain guarantees for their professional future. On 8 December, 1906, arrangements were made for the supervision of religious instruction in the
schools
not under the public authorities, and in June, 1908, a board for the direction of secondary and primary
diocesan
instruction was created. From 1879 to 1910 the expenditure for the foundation and maintenance of the independent
schools
was $8,000,000, for which appeal was made to the charity of
individuals
. Their annual support costs about $600,000. Most of the
schools
are supported by a special committee by means of collections, subscriptions, etc.; some belong to civil
societies
which rent them to the committees, while others are wholly at the expense of the
pastor
. At the beginning of 1910 there were in the 162
parishes
of Paris and its suburbs 217 independent
schools
, of which only 36 are still in the hands of congregations, and these also in virtue of the Associations Law are destined after a short time to be under the supervision of lay
Catholics
. The number of pupils frequenting these
schools
is estimated to be about 42,000. The "Jeunesse prévoyante du diocèse de Paris", established in 1902, constitutes a flourishing
school
mutual-aid
society
. A district union groups together thirty-five associations of former pupils of the independent
schools
(called
Amicales
), and is a bond among 4500 members. The initiative in domestic economy in Paris was taken by
Catholics
. Even before the public authorities had made
sacrifices
for this end, the Comtesse de Diesbach had established (15 June, 1902) a first course in domestic economy, lasting a month. It was succeeded by nine other courses in 1903-05, attended by 110 pupils, 60 of them religious from 14 orders. In 1905 was opened the Normal Institute of Domestic Economy which in its three first years gave to the independent
schools
150 teachers of domestic economy. Higher
Catholic
education
at Paris is assured by a number of institutions conducted by
ecclesiastics
, and by the
Bossuet
, Fenélon,
Gerson
, and
Massillon
schools
, which send their pupils to the state
lycées
.
For the Institut Catholique, see
UNIVERSITY OF PARIS
.
Sources
A. SOURCES. — BARROUX,
Essai de bibliogr. critique des généralités de l'hist. de Paris
(Paris, 1908), essential; POÈTE,
Les sources de l'hist. de P. et les historiens de P. in Revue Bleue
(18 and 25 Nov. 1905); TOURNEUX,
Bibliogr. de l'hist. de P. pendant la Révolution française
(4 vols., Paris, 1890-1906), especially III;
Bull. de la Soc. de l'hist. de P. et de l'Ile de France
(1874-);
Bull. du Comité d'hist. et d'archéol. du dioc. de P.
(1883-5);
Bibliothèque d'hist. de P.
(1909-).
B. GENERAL. — LEBEUF,
Hist. de la ville et de tout le dioc. de P.
(15 vols., Paris, 1754-58), new ed. by AUGIER (5 vols.);
Tables
(1 vol., Paris, 1884); BOURNON,
Rectifications et Additions à l'Abbé Lebeuf
(4 fascicles, Paris, 1890-1901); IDEM,
P. hist., monuments, administration
(Paris, 1888); IDEM,
P. Atlas
(Paris, 1900); CAIN,
Promenades dans P., Pierres de P., Coins de P.
(4 vols., Paris, 1905-10); DAVIS,
About P.
(New York, 1895); HARE,
P.
(London, 1896); MEMPES,
P.
(London, 1907); OKEY,
P. and its Story
(London, 1904); FRANKLIN,
La vie privée d'autrefois. Arts et métiers, modes, mæurs, usages des Parisiens du XII
e
au XVII
e
siècle
(27 vols., Paris, 1887-1902); HARRISON,
Memorable P. Houses with illustrative, critical, and anecdotal notices
(London, 1893).
C. ECCLESIASTICAL. —
Gallia christ.,
VII (1744), 1-219,
Instrumenta,
1-192; FISQUET,
La France pontificale
(2 vols., Paris, 1864-6); LONGNON,
L'ancien dioc. de P. et ses subdivisions
in
Bull. du Comité d'hist. et d'archéol. du dioc. de P.,
I (1883), pp. 10-19; BERNARD,
Les origines de l'église de P., établissement du christianisme dans les Gaules; saint Denys de P.
(Paris, 1870); CHARTIER,
L'ancien chapitre de Notre-Dame-de-P. et sa maîtrise
(Paris, 1897); JAUNAY,
Hist. des évêques et archevêques de P.
(Paris, 1884); DEPOIN,
Essai sur la chronologie des évêques de P. de 768 à 1138
in
Bull. histor. et philol.
(1906); FÉRET,
L'abbaye de Ste-Geneviève et la congregation de France
(Paris, 1883); BONNARD,
Hist. de l'abbaye royale de l'ordre des chanoines réguliers de St-Victor
(2 vols., Paris, 1908); BROUILLET,
Les églises paroissiales de P.
(monographs, Lyons, 1897-1904); LONERGAN,
Historic Churches of P.
(London, 1896); MORTET,
Etude histor. et archéol. sur la cathédrale et le palais épiscopal de P. au VI
e
et XII
e
siècle
(Paris, 1888); AUBERT,
La cathédrale N.-D.-de-P.
(Paris, 1909); HIATT,
N.-D.-de-P., a Short History and Description of the Cathedral
(London, 1902); DUPLESSY,
P. religieux
(Paris, 1900); D'AYZAC,
Hist. de l'abbaye de St-Denis en France
(2 vols., Paris, 1860-1); HAVET,
Les origines de St-Denis
(Paris, 1890); PARIS,
Les grandes chroniques de France, selon qu'elles sont conservées en l'église de St-Denis
(6 vols., Paris, 1830-9); VITRY AND BRIÈRE,
L'église abbatiale de St-Denis
(Paris, 1908); LESÊTRE,
L'Immaculée Conception et l'Église de Paris
(Paris, 1904); DOUMERGUE,
Paris protestant au XVI
e
siècle
in
Bull. de la Soc. du protestantisme français
(1896); DOUEN,
La Révocation de l'édit de Nantes à P.
(3 vols., Paris, 1894); DECOPPET,
P. protestant
(Paris, 1876); ROBINET,
Le mouvement religieux à P. pendant la Révolution, 1789-1801
(2 vols., Paris, 1896); DELARC,
L'église de P. pendant la Révolution française, 1789-1801
(3 vols., Paris, 1895-8); GRENTE,
Le culte catholique à P. de la Terreur au Concordat
(Paris, 1903); PISANI,
L'église de P. sous la Révolution
(3 vols., Paris, 1909-10); DE LANZAC DE LABORIE,
P. sous Napoléon,
especially IV (Paris, 1907).
D. CHARITIES. — CHEVALIER,
L'hôtel-Dieu de P. et les Sæurs Augustines (650 à 1810)
(Paris, 1901); BRUNET, La charité paroissiale à P. au XVII
e
siècle d'après les réglements des compagnies de charité (Caen, 1906); CAHEN,
Le grand bureau des pauvres de P. au milieu du 18
e
siècle
(Paris, 1904); MAXIME DU CAMP,
La charité privée à P.
(Paris, 1885); IDEM,
P. bienfaisant
(Paris, 1888); DU THILLEUL,
L'assistance publique à P., ses bienfaiteurs et sa fortune mobilière
(2 vols., Paris, 1904);
P. charitable et prévoyant,
published by the Central Office of Charitable Institutions (3rd ed., Paris, 1904);
Manuel des Œuvres
(new ed., Paris, 1911), supplies the most recent information and a detailed description concerning all French Catholic charitable works, especially those of Paris.
About this page
APA citation.
Goyau, G.
(1911).
Paris.
In
The Catholic Encyclopedia.
New York: Robert Appleton Company.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11480c.htm
MLA citation.
Goyau, Georges.
"Paris."
The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Vol. 11.
New York: Robert Appleton Company,
1911.
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11480c.htm>.
Transcription.
This article was transcribed for New Advent by Douglas J. Potter.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Ecclesiastical approbation.
Nihil Obstat.
February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
Imprimatur.
+John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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