The Saint Joan of Arc Basilica (french: Basilique Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc) is located on the Rue de Torcy and the Rue de la Chapelle in the ''quartier de la Chapelle'' of the

18th arrondissement The 18th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-huitième''. The arrondis ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Its design was the subject of a contentious design competetition. The winning partially-completed design was eventually scrapped in favor of a more modest modernist design.

History

The church was first proposed in 1914 as a

votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

for the safety of Paris during the opening stages of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, which was attributed to the intervention of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

. The new church was to be built next to the only Parisian church known to have been visited by Joan, the

church of Saint-Denys de la Chapelle Saint-Denys de la Chapelle () is a church of the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It is located in the neighborhood of La Chapelle along one of the oldest roads in Paris. The Rue de la Chapelle has existed since Gallo-Roman times, running from the s ...

, where Joan prayed one night in 1429. In 1926 a contest was announced by the archdiocese of Paris for the design of a large church. Several designs were proposed. A design by

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

created a sensation with a 200-meter bell tower of reinforced concrete and stained glass. The Perret design was rejected in favor of a design by

Georges Closson Georges Alexandre Closson (1865, Reims – 1945, Paris) was a French architect. Biography Closson's father, François Closson (1831 – 1874) was a contract metal worker, while his mother, Marie-Emilie Denis (1837 – 1921) was an ...

. Perret eventually used the scaled-down design for the emblematic church of St Joseph in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

. Closson proposed an eclectic design dominated by towers that flanked the entry and rose until they joined in a massive

Gothic arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown, whose two curving sides meet at a relatively sharp angle at the top of the arch. This architectural element was particularly important in Gothic architecture. The earlie ...

. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

consisted of three bays, each capped by a cupola and flanked on either side by gabled projections with round windows. A narrower apse completed the composition. Work began in 1930 on Closson's design, but progressed slowly and only the lower façade was built. The proposed tower-arch was not completed and the first cupola was incorporated into a

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

. After a long pause the main church, extending into the Place de Torcy was completed in an entirely different design in

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

in 1964 under the direction of architect Pierre Isnard. Isnard's design followed Closson's footprint, but substituted a simple box covered by a folded-plate concrete roof. The church's stained glass was executed by

Leon Zack Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

, while a statue of Joan of Arc was carried out by

Maxime Real del Sarte Maxime Real del Sarte (1888-1954) was a French sculptor and political activist. Biography Early life Maxime Real del Sarte was born on 2 May 1888 in Paris, France, as the son of the sculptor Louis Desire Real and Marie Magdeleine Real del Sar ...

References

{{Coord, 48.8915, N, 2.36014, E, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Roman Catholic churches in the 18th arrondissement of Paris Basilica churches in Paris Chemin Neuf Community 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France