And going on in my wonderful ride of updating my older posts in my blog ,and reviving great travel moments. This is as good as any time to do this and I love it!!! This is a nice monument in Rennes walking distance to many more sites. I will give you an update on the Basilica Saint Sauveur of Rennes!
As said been here several times and walked the beat but with so many monuments there are some that I think are worth mentioning in a post of their own. This is the case of the Basilica minor Saint Sauveur of Rennes.
The Saint-Sauveur Basilica of Rennes is a minor basilica, known as Notre Dame des Miracles et Virtue or Our Lady of Miracles and Virtues, located in the heart of the historic city center. Its foundation, under the name of Saint-Sauveur, was before the 12C. Enlarged on several occasions and rebuilt in the early 18C, it was the seat of a parish for nearly three hundred years, until WWII, then again from 2002. Following several miraculous events in the 14C and 18C, the cult of Notre Dame developed strongly to culminate in a basilica erection in 1916. In classical style, this building is particularly distinguished by its furniture, a canopy of the high altar, wrought iron chair, organ, as well as the numerous ex-votos deposited by the faithful. Located in place Saint-Sauveur, it lies at the end of a perspective starting at the bottom of the Place du parliament de Bretagne and formed by the succession of the Rue Brilhac,Rue Ermine and Rue du Guesclin. Only its eastern and southern facades are visible, the remainder being adjoined by buildings, including the presbytery to the West,at 2 Rue Saint-Sauveur. The main façade, in the east, overlooks Place Saint-Sauveur, while the south façade opens onto Rue Saint-Sauveur, and beyond, on the garden of the Hôtel de Blossac.
A bit of history I like
The present Basilica Church of Saint Sauveur was built at the beginning of the 18C, replacing a chapel whose origins merge with those of the city. The first written traces mentioning a Saint-Sauveur chapel in Rennes date from the 12C. Erected Saint-Sauveur in parish Church in 1667. This decision was confirmed by the Parliament of Brittany by a judgment of 1667, despite the opposition of the rector of Toussaints. A Brotherhood was founded in 1670 on the initiative of Saint John Eudes in honor of Our Lady of Miracles and Virtues and of the Holy Heart of Mary. In 1682, the west gable of the Church collapsed, making the Church unfit for worship. After a few months during which the Blessed Sacrament was transported to the Saint James Chapel, the cult resumed in the partially demolished church. The first stone was laid two years later, on July 24, 1703. The new orientation allowed to open the facade on the bottom of the place du grand bout de la Cohue (this square where a market was held until 1720 the location of the current Rue de Clisson and Place Saint-Sauveur). The Blessed Sacrament, dated is kept at the Museum of Brittany. The new Church is consecrated on August 5, 1719.
The destruction of the Place du grand bout de la Cohue, replaced by the Rue de Clisson and the Place Saint-Sauveur, and the piercing of the Rue du Guesclin in the axis of the Church, lead it to redraw the façade to integrate it into this new perspective. The major altar, symbolizing the end of the work, is consecrated in 1768. The French revolution interrupted the reconstruction work of St. Peter’s Cathedral destroyed in 1768. The Church of Saint-Sauveur then became the temple of reason, then the temple of the Supreme Being in 1794. The miraculous statue of Notre Dame is destroyed during this period. The building hosts public meetings. Saint-Sauveur is officially rendered to worship only on September 30, 1802.
The arrival of the master Altar c.1827 – 1829, of a Chandelier c. 1846, of a Cross c. 1860 and of the Choir Organ c. 1894. The Altars of the Sacred Heart and St. Louis and St. Anne are redone and receive new paintings. A second restoration from 1870 on the altars of the transept. It was created in 1875 the altar dedicated to Notre Dame of Miracles and Virtues. Three bells are then installed in the tower in 1876. Finally, a ceramic paving replaces the original tome in 1886. The Church also carries, between 1832 and 1855, a Telegraph Chappe on the station 4 of Rennes and the number 10 of the line Avranches-Nantes. With the reactivation of the cult of Notre Dame of Miracles and Virtues, the Church is consecrated on October 12, 1912 by Pope Pius X. It was erected in a minor Basilica on 27 April 1916 by Pope Benedict XV.
Four narratives of miracles, attributed to Notre-Dame, are related to the Church and are the subject of special devotion. In 1667, the Church of Saint-Sauveur, truce of the parish of Toussaints, becomes parish in turn, the new parish then has for limits to the north the Porte Saint-Michel (current place Rallyer-du-Baty), south the Vilaine river, to the east the rue Tristin (route close to the current rue de l’Horloge) and west the back of the Cathedral. This represents half of the first precinct of Rennes, four hectares entirely built. In 1939, the parish’s seat was moved to St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Church of Saint-Sauveur preserving its only Basilical vocation. With the reorganization in 2002; Saint-Sauveur finds a parish assignment, between the Cathedral St Pierre, and the Church of Saint-Étienne.
The exterior style of the Basilica recalls, on a lesser scale, that of the Church of the Gesù of Rome or the Basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Victories in Paris. of modest size 43 meters by 26 meters, the Basilica has a multi-cut Latin cross form, with a three-span nave and two collateral, a cut-out apse and a shallow transept. The Basilica St Sauveur is composed of a nave with two aisles, a narrow transept, a short choir and an apse with cut-out pans, without ambulatory or apsidiole. The nave has three spans against one for the choir. The first one contains the baptismal fonts, the second, the confessional. The second span of the south aisle was enlarged at the beginning of the twentieth century to accommodate the Chapel of Notre Dame des Miracles et Virtues. The master Altar is surmounted by a remarkable canopy, made in 1768 with motifs adorning the adjacent pulpit on the pillar of the choir. This painted or gilded wrought iron chair, made in 1781, richly decorated, the tub carries many ornaments such as medallions surrounded by fins and ribbons, falls of leaves and fruits, volutes and garlands of laurels. The new altar is made of marble and stainless steel, in harmony with the existing furniture.
The statue of Notre Dame des Miracles et Virtues, often referred to simply as Our Lady of Miracles, is a Virgin and the Child. It is mentioned in the 14C, as part of a miracle that would have occurred during a siege of the city. It is already a sculpture of painted wood. It is repainted in 1445, then its hands are restored in 1522. During the French revolution, as the Church welcomed the revolutionary cult, the statue was destroyed. It is only replaced in February 1876. Two organs are in the church: a choir organ and a monumental organ in a tribune. The choir organ consists of two symmetrical bodies placed obliquely. The bodies are surmounted by gendarme hats adorned with a shell. It is the first electrically transmitted organ installed in Rennes, received on March 11, 1894. The organ of Tribune dates from the 17C. The painted shuttered buffet is made of oak (central part) and fir (wings) carved in the Louis XIV style. The central turret is surmounted by a statue of St. George slaying the dragon, the side turrets of fire pots in gadroons. The whole is painted in imitation oak covering the original polychromies. Music Rennes on organ concerts webpage: https://rennesmusique.com/lieux-des-concerts/basilique-st-sauveur/
The present stained glass windows were made in 1951 and 1952, with the exception of the Chapel of Notre Dame des Miracles and the large canopy on its left. The series of Mr. Barrillet replaces the stained glass windows bombarded in 1940 during WWII. The large canopies at the bottom evoke the cult of Notre Dame des Miracles, while the small canopies of the upper represent Marian scenes. The Chapel of Notre Dame des Miracles retains its clear windows of the late 19C and the canopy on its left is from 1962.
The Rennes tourist office on the Basilica: https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/en/organize-my-trip/what-to-do-in-rennes/basilique-saint-sauveur-2/
There you go folks, hope you have enjoy the historical architecture tour of the Basilique Saint Sauveur de Rennes. OF course, this is just a condense story of a magnificent monument.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 