Churches in Paris and elsewhere

  63 Paris 11 th arrondissement Sainte Marguerite : the burial place of the guillotined   One of the claims to fame of this church is that 73 bodies of people guillotined in Bastille Square were buried here during the French revolutionary period. To be precise, in 1794 when the conservatives had taken over the revolution and executed Robespierre and his comrades. The son of the executed King Louis XVII was also buried here, when he died in prison. Finely painted Stations of the Cross, and painting by Gabriel Briard of the souls in Purgatory having a rough time as predicted. Also some commemoration of Carmelites executed during the French Revolution, suspected of supporting alleged Royalist plots. And on the outside you’ve got your pilgrims on the way to Emmaus meeting their hero in disguise. Information in French Information in English Information in Italian

  Jerusalem : St George’s Cathedral : echoes of colonialism of yesterday and today St George’s Cathedral is situated in occupied East Jerusalem. Set up by Anglican missionaries at the end of the 19th century, and very much marked by the period when the British were top dog here. Lots of commemorative thingies to police and military, and the highly political nature of the place is underlined by the fact that the church displays the royal court of arms which was in Government House when the British were lording it over everyone here with extreme incompetence at best. The stations of the cross, in ceramic, are very special. If you’re getting baptized here there is a proper pool for immersion, which is extremely rare in Anglican churches and probably a sign of being close to Orthodox locals. There are also a couple of very original crucifixes.   Information in English Information in Arabic Information in Hebrew Information in Frisian