144 Pontoise in the Paris suburbs : Notre Dame (and Saint Walter)

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The Western suburbs of Paris have the reputation of being more chic that those of the East, and this is generally accurate. Nevertheless there are lots of ordinary people living in the Western suburbs, and the posters in this church announcing masses in Portuguese and in Tamil are a sign of this, as well as a reminder that a church is generally a place for an active community, not just a pretty building.


The church has some nice frescoes; it was a place of pilgrimage back in the mists of time. rebuilt in 1599, it was used during the French Revolutionary period to store fodder (I think they were making a point) before getting religion again under Napoleon.


Stained glass gives stories from Mary’s life. There is a thirteenth-century Virgin and Child, and you can see prayers given in 1638 by the population faced with the Black Death.


The church contains the tomb of Saint Walter of Pontoise, who, I am told, tried to protest against the abuses and corruptions of his fellow Benedictines, and was rewarded by being beaten and put in jail.

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