124 Paris, Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal - How to be a big hit at weddings
124 Paris, Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal
Now I’m a sucker for modern churches in general, but this is a really beautiful one on
the Western edge of Paris, not far from the Technical College I used to work in
in the 1980s. Started in the 1920s in Byzantine style, and finished in 1962. Fine
volumes, great bas relief and a lot of what I assume are twentieth century
paintings, both of the Stations of the Cross and of other shock events like
Noah loading up the boat, or the Transfiguration (Matthew 17 or Mark 9 will give
you the official take on this last). Also there is a painting of « How to
become a Big Hit at Weddings ». Lovely baptismal font, and modern,
symbolic, stained glass. Noticeboards and pamphlets show it is a very active
parish.
The church is named after a sixteenth century French saint, brought up
in a noble family. Once widowed, she set
up a new order of nuns, open to many of
those who were rejected by the established orders because they were elderly or
disabled. Mostly they prayed, but they also visited the sick. By the time
Jeanne died thirty odd years later, the order counted 87 establishments. Today
there are still around 150.
Although once suspected of Jansenism and of believing in irresistible grace, Jeanne was canonized in the 18th
century.
