Saint-Esprit is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the

12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...

, France, in the southeast of the city.

History

The population in the neighbourhood in the eastern part of the 12th arrondissement had been growing since 1860, creating a need for a large church. The triangular parcel of land the church now occupies between avenue Daumesnil and rue Claude Decaen was purchased in 1927 by the Archbishop, Cardinal Dubois, and his auxiliary Mgr Crépin. The Église du Saint-Esprit was built between 1928 and 1935. The crypt was inaugurated in 1929 and served as a chapel while the upper part of the church was being built. The work progressed slowly due to lack of funding. When Cardinal Dubois died in 1929, he was replaced by Bishop Verdier, who resumed construction in 1932. His bust is above the main door. The interior decor of the church was protected as a '' monument historique'' by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

on 17 August 1979. The entire edifice was designated a historical monument in 1992.

Architecture

The architecture of the church—with its juxtaposition of Byzantine influence and reinforced concrete—is 'absolutely unique.' The architect,

Paul Tournon Paul Tournon (b. 19 February 1881 - 22 December 1964) was a French architect. He was born in Marseille and died in Paris. He was an architect in chief of many French civil buildings and national palaces, and a member of the Académie des Beaux ...

, designed and built the church, following a plan inspired by that of the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

in Istanbul. The church has a huge dome — in diameter with a summit at above ground level. The use of reinforced concrete for the vertical supports and the dome was a major technical feat at the time of construction. The dome was designed to allow light to enter through the row of openings at its base. Nevertheless, some experts contend that the darkness of the interior interferes with the appreciation of the rich interior décor. The reinforced concrete of the exterior has a facing of red bricks from Burgundy.

Interior

The interior was elaborately decorated (frescoes, mosaics, sculptures and stained glass windows) by the artists of the Ateliers d'Art Sacré, an association of Catholic artists dedicated to creating art in the service of God. The interior is generally dark, giving the church its unique atmosphere. The decoration illustrates the history of the 'church militant' and of the 'church triumphant' from the Pentecost to the 20th century. One of its main themes is the influence of the Holy Spirit on human history. The frescoes are organised chronologically into 7 periods: 1. the Pentecost, including the intercession of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles; 2: the first to the fourth century, including the martyrdom of

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

and Saint Jean's vision of the Apocalypse; 3. the fifth to the eleventh century, including the baptism of Clovis and

Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregor ...

defining the rules for

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...

s; 4. the twelfth to the thirteen century, including

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order throug ...

's founding of the Cistercian monasteries and the construction of the first

Gothic cathedrals Gothic cathedrals and churches are religious buildings created in Europe between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are notable particularly for their great height and their extensive use of stained glass ...

; 5. the fourteenth to the fifteenth century, including

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...

in front of the papal palace in Avignon and the precursors of the Renaissance; 6. the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, including Henry IV with the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...

, marking a step forward for religious tolerance and an end to the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mi ...

; 7. the nineteenth and twentieth century, including an image of the Holy Spirit overseeing the work of both the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the fir ...

and contemporary workers. Most of the frescoes were painted onto wet cement and mistakes could not be corrected. To enhance the unity of the interior decor, the architect imposed a standard height for the depiction of all major characters, and red as the color of all the backgrounds. Murals and frescoes were the work ''inter alia'' of

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with ''Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...

Georges Desvallières Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 197 ...

, Robert Poughéon, Nicolas Untersteller and Elizabeth Branly. Carlo Sarrabezolles sculpted the statues and the stained glass windows are the work of

Louis Barillet Louis Barillet (1880 – 1948) was a French artist, known for his work in stained glass. Among those with whom he collaborated were Théodore-Gérard Hanssen and Jacques Le Chevallier. His windows may be seen in the church of Notre-Dame-des-M ...

, Paul Louzier and Jean Herbert-Stevens. Raymond Subes undertook the metalwork and Marcel Imbs made the mosaic and stained glass boxes of the crypt.

Organ

The choir organ was built by Gloton-Debierre after plans by

Albert Alain Albert Paul Alain (1 March 1880 – 15 October 1971) was a 20th-century French organist and composer. Biography Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Clarisse-Alphonsine Fouquet (born 1859) and Paul François Alain (born 1851), he entered in adult ...

, and was inaugurated by

Jehan Alain Jehan-Aristide Paul Alain (; 3 February 1911 – 20 June 1940) was a French organist, composer, and soldier. Born into a family of musicians, he learned the organ from his father and a host of other teachers, becoming a composer at 18, and compo ...

in December 1934. There were also plans for a second, large organ, but it was never built due to lack of funding. The church’s first organist was the prodigious

Jeanne Demessieux Jeanne Marie-Madeleine Demessieux (13 February 1921 – 11 November 1968) was a French organist, pianist, composer, and teacher. She was the chief organist at Saint-Esprit for 29 years and at La Madeleine in Paris starting in 1962. She perfo ...

who worked there between 1933 and 1962.

Gallery

File:Église du Saint-Esprit en construction (1928).JPG, Under construction in 1928 File:Jean Verdier, Église du Saint-Esprit, 1932.jpg, Dedication by Cardinal

Jean Verdier Jean Verdier, PSS (19 February 1864 – 9 April 1940) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1929 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1929. Biography Jean Verdier was born ...

in 1935 File:Église du Saint-Esprit (Paris) 1.jpg, The church spire seen from Place Felix Eboué File:Glise du Saint Esprit entrée avenue Daumesnil.jpg, The entry way at 186, avenue Daumesnil File:L'église du Saint Esprit bricks.jpg, The facing of red brick from Burgundy on the facade File:Paris - Église du Saint-Esprit (29159544413).jpg, Fresco depicting Christopher Columbus and the Council of Trent File:Paris - Église du Saint-Esprit (29157222394).jpg, A supporting half dome File:Paris - Église du Saint-Esprit (29159554033).jpg, Detail of interior File:Paris - Église du Saint-Esprit (29785111365).jpg, Another view of the interior File:Paris - Église du Saint-Esprit (29785109635).jpg, Detail of decoration File:Paris - Église du Saint-Esprit 41.jpg, The gilt pulpit against a backdrop of concrete File:Paris - Église du Saint-Esprit (29492702340).jpg, Detail of a fresco depicting the 3 faculties of the soul: intelligence, will and sensitivity

References