Saint-Sulpice – Paris’ Second Largest Church
It was the Fontaine des Quatre Évêques (Four Bishops Fountain) that drew me in search of the Church of Saint-Sulpice. Located in the Latin Quarter of the 6th arrondissement, it was the lions that intrigued me. The photo of the fountain I had seen with its four lions languidly draped over the sides just “spoke to me”.
They are enormous and powerful but the four Bishops which individually grace each side of the fountain also make the fountain powerful.
Saint-Sulpice Bishops Fountain
Fontaine des Quatre Évêques
Beautiful chestnut trees surround this vast plaza known as Place Saint-Sulpice. It is these enormous chestnut trees that frustrated my efforts to get a full photograph of the Church of Saint-Sulpice. I also had to stop several times and clean the camera lens because the force of the wind sent the fountain spraying in all directions it seemed.
Church of Saint-Sulpice
A Bit of History
The Church dates back to the 13th century and is adorned in medieval sculpture even at its highest points on the two towers according to the tour guide. These two towers are curious, at least to me, in that they are not of the same height, they are round and they do not have the traditional pointed apex that I expect on a church steeple.
Approaching the west side entry you will notice a faint inscription above the center door: Le Peuple Français Reconnoit L’Etre Suprême Et L’Immortalité de L’Âme (The people of France recognize a supreme being and the immortality of the soul.) It is super faint and did not show up on my camera screen so I copied it down.
What on earth could this mean? It’s a church, I thought. Of course they believe in a supreme being but why not just say “we believe in God”. Even that was stating the obvious. However, a bit of research uncovered the details of the inscription.
Placed here during the time of the French Revolution when Christianity was suppressed, the people wanted to make a statement about their beliefs. During this time, church land was confiscated, and crosses, bells, statues and other iconography of churches were destroyed. What a historical loss on so many fronts.
Paris Saint-Sulpice Nave
Virgin Chapel of Paris Saint-Sulpice
Inside, La Chapelle de la Vierge (the Virgin Chapel) has a large white marble statue of the Virgin Mary that was designed by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. The fresco in this chapel is of the Assumption of Mary and it dates from 1734.
Marble Statue of the Virgin Mary by Pigalle
Chapel of the Virgin Fresco
Chapel of the Virgin
Delacroix Paintings
Saint Sulpice has some amazing paintings by Eugène Delacroix that decorate the Chapelle des Saint-Anges, the Chapel of the Holy Angels. Delacroix was commissioned in 1849 to decorated this chapel that is the first on the right as you enter the church.
Based on information found here, these paintings have a chronological relevance.
On the left as you enter this chapel is the fresco from the Old Testament, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. Scriptural reference can be found in Genesis 32:22-32
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel
In the fresco on the right of the chapel, Heliodorus, prime minister to the King of Syria is sent by the King to rob the treasures of the Temple of Jerusalem.
“….[I]n response to the active prayers of the high priest Onais and the Jewish faithful, divine beings [angel reference] interrupt the sacrilege and swoop in to strike Heliodorus.”
Heliodorus is the figure that has been struck down in the lower center of the fresco. Biblical Reference: Maccabees 3: 21-28
The Expulsion of Heliodorus
Looking up, we find the third angel reference. This painting differs from the other two in that it is a stretched canvas and the other two are frescoes, painted directly on the walls. On the ceiling, Saint-Michael the Archangel defeats the devil. The New Testament Book of Revelations contains the Biblical reference.
Saint Michael Defeats the Devil
The Chapel of Souls in Purgatory
Although not related to the Delacroix chapel, both the stained glass and the altar of the chapel adjacent to the Chapelle des Saint-Anges, captivated me as well. This is the Chapel of the Souls in Purgatory.
The Chapel of Souls in Purgatory
Saint-Sulpice Stained Glass “Christ Crucified” Lucien Léopold Lobin , 1869
The Pietà by Jean-Baptiste Auguste Clésinger, 1868
The details of the Pietà sculpture are amazing. Here is a close-up of the angel to the lower left of the Pietà. Notice that she is holding Christ’s crown of thorns in her hand.
Angel holding crown of thorns
An Obelisk and the Gnomon
The obelisk below is nearly 11 meters tall and is one part of a gnomon. A brass meridian line runs down its side and across the floor to the other part of the gnomon. The purpose of a gnomon was to determine the time of the equinox and thus the date for Easter.
Saint Sulpice Gnomon Obelisk
My question; how can something cast a shadow while housed inside a building?
Second in size only to Notre-Dame de Paris, Saint-Sulpice boasts plenty of interior space to allow the sun, from an optimally placed window with one tiny optimally placed hole, to produce the desired results! Mathematics never ceases to fascinates me.
And, yes, this is the obelisk of fame in Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code. But no, the Paris meridian that he refers to is not the same as this brass meridian line in Saint-Sulpice.
If you are lucky enough to be in Paris on a Sunday, organ recitals are generally held after Mass at 11:30. They last for about ½ an hour.
Saint-Sulpice Organ
Curious notes of interest
The baptisms of both the Marquis de Sade and Baudelaire took place here.
Things to see/do near Here
Luxembourg Gardens, Musée de Luxembourg (in the Luxembourg Gardens) Saint-Germain des Près, Les Deux Magots Café
Getting There
Closest metros are Saint-Sulpice line 4 or metro Mabillon line 10.
Mon histoire de Saint-Sulpice (en bref) en français…
C’était la Fontaine des Quatre Évêques avec ses lions qui m’a attirée vers l’Église Saint-Sulpice. Les lions langoureux de cette fontaine, sont-ils là pour protéger les évêques ? Quelle force on peut sentir de tous les évêques et lions !
Les œuvres d’art
Datant du XIIIe siècle, cette église contient des merveilleuses œuvres d’art. Par exemple, dans la chapelle des Saint-Anges, on peut voir des œuvres d’Eugène Delacroix. Tous les tableaux ici font référence aux anges. À gauche on trouve « La lutte de Jacob avec l’ange » et à droite « L’expulsion d’Héliodore du temple ». Finalement, en haut, il y a une troisième référence aux anges, « Saint-Michel terrassant le dragon ». Le point commun des deux premiers tableaux est qu’ils sont des fresques, peints au mur ; par contre, le tableau sur le plafond a été peint sur une toile tendue.
À côté de la chapelle des Saint-Anges est une chapelle qui me fascine, la chapelle des Âmes du Purgatoire. La statue de la Pietà est magnifique. Au-dessus de la Pietà on trouve un vitrail de la crucifixion du Christ. Toute la scène de la crucifixion et de la Pietà est très touchante.
Le gnomon de Saint-Sulpice
Enfin, il existe un gnomon qui inclut un obélisque. Un gnomon est la portion protubérante d’un cadran solaire qui indique le temps par la position de son ombre. Cet obélisque a une ligne de laiton le long du côté qui continue le long par le sol à l’autre part du gnomon. Le but ? Le but de ce cadran solaire était de déterminer le temps de l’équinoxe, c’est-à-dire la date de Pâques. Cette information provient de l’ombre de l’obélisque. Quoi ! L’ombre d’un objet qui se trouve dans l’église ? C’est vrai qu’on doit avoir du soleil de produire un ombre. Une fenêtre est stratégiquement située sur le mur, ayant un petit trou pour le soleil, permettant un positionnement optimal pour produire l’ombre désiré. Les mathématiques, elle sont merveilleuses !
The French version above has been shared on Learn Parisian French ! Llyane has been instrumental in guiding me to a confident level of French.
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