Sunday, April 21, 2013

Chapelle Saint-Vincent-de-Paul II



Chapelle Saint-Vincent-de-Paul II

Saint Vincent de Paul was born in 1581 and after early years of study, graduated in theology, and was ordained in 1600 at the age of 19.  In 1617 he founded the "Ladies of Charity" from a group of women within his parish who came to be known as the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.

He worked for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley-slaves, and established a group known as the Vincentians, priests with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience.  The Vincentians (also known as Lazarists) are today present in over 80 countries.

After his death in 1660, he was canonized by Pope Clement XII in 1737.  In the photo above you can see the richly appointed shrine which contains the body of Saint Vincent de Paul.  The bones are his, and the "body" was created beautifully of wax over the skeleton.  The overall effect is of the gentle saint peacefully at rest.  I did not photograph the body, but photos are available on the internet if you are interested.




bon dimanche


Chapelle Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
95, rue de Sèvres
75006, Paris
Métro Sèvres-Babylone

12 comments:

Joe said...

The devotion displayed in the architecture of this church is astounding. Recreating a wax body over a skeleton is a sign of true devotion that's for sure.

Rob-bear said...

Très intéressant. Merci.

Alain said...

Cet homme, qui s'est beaucoup occupé des pauvres,aurait peut-être préféré que l'argent mis dans son tombeau ait été mieux employé.

Jeanie said...

Quite beautiful, Genie. Perfect for this Sunday morning.

JudyMac said...

Your welcome history post about Saint Vincent de Paul serves to show us the vast difference between the magnificence of Saint Vincent de Paul, at the age of 19, and the misguided young man, age 19, who elected to create such destruction this week in Boston. Needless to say, we know who was the better man.

Starman said...

I find it simply amazing that they can "study" this crap and still come away believing it!!!!!

Vagabonde said...

Just came to your blog to see some photos of Paris and forgot that on Sunday you have religious pictures. I read the comment by Starman and it made me smile and reminded me of the article I just read. France is number 5 or 8 (depending on the report of classification) as the least religious country in the world. First I think was Estonia, then Sweden Norway and Denmark were about the same, then the Czech Republic then France and Japan.

By the way the mother chapel (or original chapel) of the Lazaristes used to be in the old prieuré of Saint-Lazare (which used to be a leprosy center) but they were thrown out by the French Revolution (the Revolution was as much against the Catholic Church as the nobility as you may recall – which is why the French are some of the least religious people in Europe and the world) and it became a jail. Some of the “Lazaristes” this is what they were called, went even under the guillotine. In 1817 they were allowed again to have a chapel and this is when they moved the body (or skeleton) in this chapel rue de Sèvres. By the way they were also thrown out of Germany in 1877 – don’t know why, or don’t recall and even though they are in several countries, they are no longer that big. Anyway the mission of Lazaristes of St Vincent de Paul is directed now by someone in the US (an American) in Maryland.

Randy said...

So much beauty, everywhere.

Genie -- Paris and Beyond said...

Alain, je crois que oui.

Vagabonde, your comment was very informative and I did not know the current status of the Lazaristes. As Alain said, it is likely that this departed saint would have preferred the money spent in his honor to have been put to better use.

I did find the preserved body a bit disconcerting and chose not to take the close up photographs. This was a most unusual church from my prior experiences in the churches of Paris.

The architecture is beautifully crafted. This church is less than a block from Bon Marché and is hardly noticeable from the street.

Bises,
Genie

Alexa said...

JudyMac makes an interesting point. Then again, we're not living in the 17th century, are we? (And personally, I'd rather just decompose in peace, thank you.)

Cezar and Léia said...

spectacular picture!Wonderful details and you captured it very well, I also love the dramatic lights in this image!
Léia

Louise said...

What an astonishing church! And I'm so excited- it's really close to our accommodation this Parisian summer- I am so going to go there! Thanks so much for putting up this lovely picture.