Paris1972-Versailles2003

Walking Paris is always sublime , enormous feeling of architecture and history all around you, and beauty. This is a not enough walk area of mine ,walked with the family couple times, and voilà saw this church and why not, a wonderful souvenir of my walks with the family in my eternal Paris. I found me again pictures in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me. Therefore, let me tell you again on the Church Saint Nicolas du Chardonnet of Paris !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Church Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet is located at 23 rue des Bernardins, on the corner of rue Saint-Victor in the 5éme arrondissement or district of Paris, in the Saint-Victor quartier or neighborhood, was rebuilt in the second half of the 17C on the site of a 13C chapel and was completed in 1937.

A bit of history tell us that the “Clos du Chardonnet” is first mentioned in a census from 1126. It refers to an area located on the left bank of the Seine, stretching from the moats of the Abbey of Saint-Victor in the east to rue de Bièvre in the west, stopping halfway up the slope of the Sainte-Geneviève hill. It owes its name to the wild thistles that grew there before vines were planted. The Clos du Chardonnet was then included in the enclosure of Philippe Auguste , Pierre, Abbot of Saint-Victor, who granted to the Bishop of Paris, Guillaume d’Auvergne, a piece of land to build a chapel and a presbytery near the cemetery which he dedicated to Saint Nicholas in 1230, to commemorate the rescue of three sailors after a shipwreck on the Seine. Having become a parish, the chapel was replaced by a church in 1243, which was in turn replaced by a larger church that Jean de Nanton, Bishop of Paris, consecrated on May 13, 1425. Enlarged in 1545, the Church Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet received a new bell tower in 1625. In the middle of the 17C, it was decided to rebuild a new church next to the old one which was falling into ruin. On July 19, 1656, the first stone was laid in the cemetery of the old church for a new church on which Charles Le Brun worked. The dedication on August 15, 1667. The nave was completed in 1716, the vault laid in 1763. The high altar was consecrated on December 4, 1768. The main southern portal, overlooking rue Saint-Victor, was built. between 1932 and 1937, and the church was finally consecrated on July 2, 1937, The current organ comes from the former parish of the Holy Innocents, abolished in 1787, and was sold to the Fabrique de Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet. It was built by the great organ builder François Thierry between 1723 and 1725.

Since February 27, 1977, the date of its illegal occupation by members of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, a fraternity to which it has unofficially belonged ever since, this church has been the main Parisian place of worship for the traditionalist Catholic movement. also described as “fundamentalist” as well as, to some extent, the Catholic fringe of the French far right. Marine Le Pen had her three children baptized there and her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, went there regularly to have Masses said for his deceased friends. Four major religious processions bring together the faithful during Catholic religious holidays: Palm Sunday, Corpus Christi, Assumption Day on August 15, and for the torchlight procession in honor of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. In the Church Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet , there is a statue of Our Lady of Africa, the original of which is in Algiers, and a Mass in memory of King Louis XVIII. Hippolyte Feret had a flask of water flowing from the bones of Saint Nicholas displayed, brought by Paul de la Croix, priest of the company with certificates. There was also a bone of Saint Nicholas, with attestation from Louise de Foix de Candale, abbess of the abbey church of Sainte-Glossinde in Metz. Later, a relic of the right foot of Saint Victor was also placed there. Relics of the cross of Christ were also displayed there on solemn days. Near the entrance, one of the early paintings by the painter Charles Le Brun, one of the founders in 1648 of the French Academy and first painter of Louis XIV, parishioner and then churchwarden of Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet, can be seen. It is the Martyrdom of Saint John the Evangelist at the Latin Gate. The tombs of Le Brun and his mother Julienne Le Bé are located in a chapel of the church. This chapel dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo is one of the most sumptuous private chapels in Paris, created by Antoine Coysevox and the sculptor Gaspard Collignon. Charles Le Brun, who is said to have provided the plans and drawings for the entire Saint-Nicolas church, is said to have only provided the decoration of the chapel, the façade on Rue des Bernardins of 1669, the design of the front, those of the tabernacle and the Calvary. There is also a large painting by Camille Corot, The Baptism of Christ. A Pietà by the Recollet painter Claude François, known as “Brother Luc”, dating from the 18C, has recently been identified. The four bells of Saint-Nicolas were blessed on July 5, 1856, and their godparents were the Emperor Napoléon III, and Empress Eugénie, represented by the Duke of Bassano, Grand Chamberlain of the Emperor, and the Duchess of Bassano, Lady-in-Waiting to the Empress. Consequently, these bells were named: Louis, Napoleon, Eugénie, and Jean.

The Official Church Saint Nicolas de Chardonnet : https://www.saintnicolasduchardonnet.org/

The Official Fraternité sacerdotale Saint-Pie-X on the church : https://laportelatine.org/lieux/chardonnet#

The City of Paris on the church : https://www.paris.fr/lieux/eglise-saint-nicolas-du-chardonnet-19485

This is the wonderful way to walk Paris and see these off the beaten path monuments ,and they are many.  This is a nice area, and walking is good for you too, sublime walk. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Church Saint Nicolas du Chardonnet of Paris !! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!