Sacred Heart
The story of the Sacred-Heart goes back to 1871, when two Parisian bourgeois, the notable Alexandre Legentil and the lawyer Hubert Rohaut de Fleury pronounced the vow to realise a religious monument. Its aim: expiate the sins of the revolutionary Communards who particularly took up arms against the people of Versailles. It is towards the year 1872 that the Cardinal Guibert, Paris’ archbishop, grants this vow and obtains from the National Assembly a law that declares the construction of the basilica of public interest.
The choice of the hill is self-explanatory; it is a place of worship as old as man. The Gallo-Roman temples elevated there to celebrate Mercury and Mars bear witness to this and may also have given its name to the hill: Mons Martis. It is no surprise either that one of the oldest church in Paris, the Eglise St Pierre, actually sits on top of the hill. And, for that matter, the martyr Saint Denis happened to have come there in the IIIrd century and the order of the Jesuits was also founded there by Saint Ignacio de Loyola. The Montmartre hill therefore seemed like an ideal location for the monument due to its height and predestination for worship.
Stairs of the Sacred Heart Basilica
The bell is not the only thing that sings in the basilica, its great organ signed by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was installed 3 years after its donor, a Wagner enthusiast, the baron Albert de l’Espée died. Any serious historical visit of the basilica should also comprise of the visit of the crypt to the left when coming out of the church. Inside, you will walk along a covered walk which opens up onto 14 chapels and leads to the Piéta chapel where lay the cardinals Guibert and Richard. There also start the stairs to the dome rack. Some 237 steps will lead you to the top from which you will be able to admire one of Paris’ best views which stretches as far as 50km around.
By Alice Cannet
Published : April 29, 2010
Photo credit : © S.I Montmartre
