The Churches of Paris, from Clovis to Charles XBeale, Sophia
History
The Churches of Paris, from Clovis to Charles X
Beale, Sophia
Church buildings -- France -- Paris; Paris (France) -- Buildings, structures, etc.
It is curious to see how these chapels have changed names, and the why
and wherefore. For instance, the first one in the _chevet_ was
consecrated in 1608 to the Three Kings, the original founder being
Guillaume Morot, one of the king's councillors and _contrôleur des
finances_. Then it passed into the hands of the Puysieux family. In 1780
it was called the chapel of S. John the Baptist, in memory of
Jean-Baptiste Fleuriau, chevalier d'Armenonville, keeper of the seals,
who died at Madrid, and was transported to S. Eustache for burial.
Charles Fleuriau, count de Morville, a minister, was buried here in
1732. These d'Armenonvilles inhabited an hotel in the Rue Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, which has been swallowed up by the post office. The hide
merchants held the meetings of their guild in this chapel. In 1843 it
was dedicated to the Sacred Heart, and is decorated by M. de Larivière
to celebrate that article of faith, the four personages who accompany
Our Lord being Pope Clement XIII., the zealous devotee of the _Sacré
Cœur_; the blessed Marie-Marguerite Alacoque, of the order of the
Visitation, and the discoverer of the miracle at Paray-le-Monial; the
reverend father La Colombière, who defended the apparition against the
unbelievers; and Monseigneur de Belzunce, bishop of Marseilles, who, in
putting the city under the protection of the new dogma, saved it from
the effects of a grievous pestilence, by causing the immediate retreat
thereof to less favoured purlieus. In the next chapel we come upon more
relics. The Rouillé family, and the Lecouteulx de Canteleu, founded it,
and dedicated it to S. Margaret; but after the Revolution, S. Joseph was
called in as patron, and as S. Agnes required a special altar, this was
once more changed in name, and made over to her good protection in 1850.
Or possibly the acquisition of her relics required a resting-place
fitted specially for them. They consist of three fingers of the Saint
from the abbey of S. Corentin, near Septeuil, and a pretty large portion
of one of her ribs from the cemetery of S. Priscilla at Rome, given by
Marie-Félix des Ursins, Duchesse de Montmorency, Supérieure de la
Visitation de Moulins. The picture over the altar is attributed to
Titian or Giordano; the modern frescoes are by M. Vauchelet: the
_Martyrdom of S. Agnes_, in which one executioner is thrown down by the
rush of flames, while the other, avenging himself upon the innocent
victim, cleaves her head asunder with a sword.
When Archbishop Sibour verified the relics of S. Anne, in 1853, a chapel
was dedicated to her, displacing Notre-Dame de Pitié, S. Adrien, S.
Hubert, and S. Jacques. One would imagine, that is, the blasphemer might
imagine, that saints would not take it well when they are deposed and
supplanted, but possibly, being in higher realms than ours, they see the
insignificance of such proceedings. The frescoes are by Lazerges.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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