Architecture and Popular Religion: French Pilgrimage Churches of the Nineteenth

Century

Jessica Ruth Basciano

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

2012

2012

Jessica Ruth Basciano

All rights reserved

ABSTRACT

Architecture and Popular Religion: French Pilgrimage Churches of the Nineteenth

Century

Jessica Ruth Basciano

Architecture was essential to the radical transformation of pilgrimage by the

Catholic clergy in nineteenth-century France. To show how pilgrimage churches

clericalized and modernized the devotions centered on sacred sites, this dissertation

analyzes three important examples: Jacques- -

Dame de Bonsecours in Rouen (1840-

Immacule-Conception at Lourdes (1862- -

Martin in Tours (1886-1925). In the process, this study reveals the Catholic context of

nineteenth-century French ecclesiastical architecture. Pilgrimage churches were paid for

by the private donations of Catholics and their construction was overseen by priests: they

were less determined by the government architectural bureaucracy than other churches.

Notre-Dame de Bonsecours is a landmark of the beginning of the Gothic and

Marian revivals during the July Monarchy. Influenced by Catholic authors and

architects, the parish priest chose to give the basilica a thirteenth-century style, and a

coordinated decoration that put Bonsecours at the forefront of the regeneration of

religious art. In the midst of rapid industrialization, he and the donors sought to recreate

an ideal medieval social order structured according to Christian principles. The Basilica

of the Immacule-Conception demonstrates the endurance of Catholic theories of the

Gothic in the Second Empire, as well as a new preoccupation with economical church

construction. The basilica evoked both twelfth-century churches and nineteenth-century

mass production, thereby complementing the promotion of the pilgrimage to

Lourdes as a continuation of medieval traditions and a modern spectacle. Erected above

the grotto of the apparitions, the basilica reinforced the dogma of the Immaculate

Conception and its ultramontane and legitimist implications. In contrast, the Basilica of

Saint-Martin is proof of the influence on the clergy of Christian archaeology. A liberal

bishop chose to evoke the fifth-

tomb, in opposition to an intransigent lay group that wanted to rebuild the eleventh-

century church that had stood there. While the lay project expressed a counter-

revolutionary narrative of expiation, the built church connoted early Christianity and

reflected a shift among the faithful towards accepting the Republic. This dissertation

argues that, owing to their distinctive patronage model, pilgrimage churches expressed

more clearly than other churches the evolving politics of French Catholicism.

i

Table of Contents

Table of Contents i

List of Illustrations iv

Acknowledgements xvii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1: The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours (1840-44) 26

i. Introduction 26

ii. Deciding to Build 29

a) Popular Religion, Devotion to Mary, and the

Re-Christianization of Rouen 29

the Basilica 34

iii . Planning and Building 39

e of the Gothic Style 39

b) The Evolution of the Project 59

c) The Completed Church 63

-Building Projects 68

iv. Funding 71

the Notables 71

rn towards the July Monarchy 79

rch 88

v. Decorating 95

a) Exterior Sculpture 96

b) Mural Paintings 102

c) Sanctuary Sculpture and High Altar 110

d) Stained Glass Windows 113

e) Liturgical Furnishings 119

vi. Conclusion: The Afterlife of the Pilgrimage Site 125

Chapter 2: The Basilica of the Immacule-Conception in Lourdes (1862-72) 133

i. Introduction 133

ii

ii. Authorizing the Devotion and Deciding to Build 145

a) The Response of the Clergy 145

b) The Response of the Government of Napoleon III 155

iii. Planning 158

chapelle domestique (1861) 158

b) Changes to the Grotto, before and after Laurence Declared

the Authenticity of the Apparitions in 1862 164

itions and Publications 170

s and Building Projects 181

and 185

f) The Evolution of the Project 188

g) Funding 197

iv. Building and Decorating 206

a) Construction 206

b) The Completed Church 212

c) Decoration 224

v. The Emergence of Modern Pilgrimage at Lourdes 230

a) The Rise of National Pilgrimage in the 1870s and the

Modernization of the Shrine 230

b) The Modernization of the Town 242

vi. Conclusion: The Criticism of the Basilica by mile Zola and

Joris-Karl Huysmans 246

Chapter 3: The Basilica of Saint-Martin in Tours (1886-1925) 253

i. Introduction 253

ii. The Revival of the Cult of Saint Martin in the Nineteenth Century 256

-Martin and Catholic Lay Action 256

b) The Destruction of the Eleventh-Century Basilica of

Saint-Martin during the Revolution 260

c) The Project of Jacquet-Delahaye-Avrouin to Build on

(1822) 262

e during the Second Empire 265

e) Pilgrimage Church Projects and the Discourse of Expiation

during and after the Crisis of 1870-1871 270

(1872-74) 283

296

iii

a) The Anticlerical Campaign of the Opportunist Republicans

uvre in 1883 296

of Appeasement and the Arrival of

Archbishop Meignan in 1884 300

chapelle de secours (1884) 302

Catholic Unity 306

e) The Papal Judgment o

308

iv. The Politics of Christian Archaeology and the Basilica of

Saint-Martin in Tours by Victor Laloux 310

a) Casimir Chevalier: 311

b) Meignan and Chevalier: Planning the Basilica of

Saint-Martin before Laloux 315

c) Returning pensionnaire Victor Laloux 320

d) Hypothetical Reconstructions of the Fifth-Century Basilica of

Saint-Martin 325

69) and the

Avant-Projet by Chevalier and Laloux (1885) 338

f) The Reworked Project by Laloux and the Completed Church

(1886-1925) 345

g) Conclusion 358

Conclusion 361

Illustrations 377

Bibliography 490

Appendices 531

s and New Buildings 531

Appendix 2: Donors Recognized in the Basilica of Notre-Dame de

Bonsecours 535

Appendix 3: Duran 539

ojects, Restorations, and New Buildings 541

iv

Illustrations

1. Church of Saint-Lger-du-Bourg-Denis, near Rouen, 1500s. Photograph by the

author.

2. Alexandre Frdric Pinchon, Maison diocsaine de Bonsecours, 1837, postcard.

Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

3. Alexandre Frdric Pinchon, chapel interior, Maison diocsaine de Bonsecours, 1837,

postcard. Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

4. [Jacques-

[1842], Archives paroissiales de Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

5. Church of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, 1200s, demolished 1842-43, postcard.

Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

6. Church of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, 1200s, demolished 1842-43, postcard.

Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

7. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy. Reprinted from Pierre Chirol, J.-E. Barthlmy:

Architecte diocsain, 1799-1882 (Rouen: Lain, 1947), facing p. 1.

8. Abb Charles-Louis-Napolon Robert, Institution ecclsiastique, Yvetot, 1839-41,

destroyed. Photograph courtesy of Emile Canu, mayor, Yvetot.

9. Abb Charles-Louis-Napolon Robert, upper chapel, Institution ecclsiastique,

Yvetot, 1839-41, destroyed. Photograph courtesy of Emile Canu, mayor, Yvetot.

10. Abb Charles-Louis-Napolon Robert, crypt, Institution ecclsiastique, Yvetot,

1839-41, destroyed. Photograph courtesy of Emile Canu, mayor, Yvetot.

11. Arthur Martin, Chapelle Sainte-Genevive, 1853, Saint-tienne-du-Mont, Paris.

Photograph by the author.

12. [Jacques-

1840?], Archives paroissiales de Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

13. Jacques-

1840, Archives municipales de Bonsecours, 2 M 200 1.

14. [Jacques-

paroissiales de Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

v

15. [Jacques-

11 April 1840, Archives paroissiales de Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

16. [Jacques-

Archives paroissiales de Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

17. [Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy], Archives

paroissiales de Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

18. [Jacques-

Archives paroissiales de Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

19. Plan, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, Conservation rgionale des monuments

historiques de Haute-Normandie, Dossier de Recensement. Plan courtesy of Lionel

Dumarche, Conservation rgionale des monuments historiques.

20. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, north elevation, Basilica of Notre-Dame de

Bonsecours, 1840-44. Photograph by the author.

21. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, west faade, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours,

1840-44. Photograph by the author.

22. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, west faade, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours,

1840-44. Photograph by the author.

23. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, interior view towards the east end, Basilica of Notre-

Dame de Bonsecours, 1840-44. Photograph by the author.

24. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, Chapelle funraire, 1844, Chteau du Plessis, near

Bouquelon. Photograph Eric Lemouton, Service inventaire et patrimoine, Rgion

Haute-Normandie.

25. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, Chapelle funraire, 1844, Chteau du Plessis, near

Bouquelon. Photograph Eric Lemouton, Service inventaire et patrimoine, Rgion

Haute-Normandie.

26. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Dlivrande, Douvres la

Dlivrande, 1853-78. Photograph courtesy of Florence Muller, Mairie de Douvres la

Dlivrande.

27. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Dlivrande, Douvres la

Dlivrande, 1853-78. Photograph courtesy of Florence Muller, Mairie de Douvres la

Dlivrande.

vi

28. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, Church of Saint-Denis, Sainte-Adresse, 1874-77.

Reprinted from Jean-Paul Bouland, Les glises de Sainte-Adresse (N. p.: Petite presse, n.

d.), cover.

29. Cover, subscription book, Archives paroissiales de Bonsecours, Carton 16.

Photograph by the author.

30. Caspar Gsell and Arthur Martin, stained glass window in the easternmost bay of the

south aisle, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, probably mid to late 1840s.

-Normandie.

31. [Caspar Gsell], Plan 159 Archives paroissiales de

Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

32. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, sanctuary and high altar, Basilica of Notre-Dame de

Bonsecours. Photograph by the author.

33. Guillaume Fulconis, tympanum, north side portal, Notre-Dame de Bonsecours.

Photograph by the author.

34. Guillaume Fulconis, tympanum, south side portal, Notre-Dame de Bonsecours.

Photograph by the author.

35. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, east end, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, 1840-

44, postcard. Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

36. Jean-Bernard Duseigneur and Charles-Claude Fontenelle, left portal, west faade,

Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, 1851. Photograph by the author.

37. Jean-Bernard Duseigneur and Charles-Claude Fontenelle, right portal, west faade,

Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours. Photograph by the author.

38. Jean-Bernard Duseigneur and Charles-Claude Fontenelle, tympanum, central portal,

west faade, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours. Photograph by the author.

39. Jean-Raimond-Hippolyte Lazerges, nave arcade spandrel angels, Basilica of Notre-

Dame de Bonsecours. Photograph by the author.

40. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, south side of sanctuary, Basilica of Notre-Dame de

Bonsecours. Photograph by the author.

41. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, north side of sanctuary, Basilica of Notre-Dame de

Bonsecours. Photograph by the author.

vii

rchives paroissiales de

Bonsecours, Plans de Bonsecours.

43. Arthur Martin and Charles Cahier, Monographie de la cathdrale de Bourges / par

les PP. Arthur Martin et Charles Cahier, de la Compagnie de Jsus. Premire partie.

Vitraux du XIIIe sicle (Paris: Poussielgue-Rusand, 1841-44), plate xxix.

44. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, Chapelle de la Sainte Vierge, Basilica of Notre-Dame

de Bonsecours. Photograph by the author.

45. Detail of the altar, Chapelle de Saint Joseph, Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours.

Photograph by the author.

46. Jacques-Eugne Barthlemy, interior view towards the west end, Notre-Dame de

Bonsecours, postcard. Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

47. Guillaume Fulconis, Lavoie, and Kreyenbielt, pulpit, Notre-Dame de Bonsecours,

around 1860, postcard. Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

48. Guillaume Fulconis, north-side stoup relief, Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, 1872,

postcard. Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

49. Guillaume Fulconis, south-side stoup relief, Notre-Dame de Bonsecours, 1872,

postcard. Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

50. Kreyenbielt and Victor Fulconis, confessional, Basilica of Notre-Dame de

Bonsecours, begun 1875. Photograph by the author.

51. Edmond Bonet and Ferdinand Marrou, baptismal font, Basilica of Notre-Dame de

Bonsecours, completed by 1886. Photograph by the author.

the plateau des Aigles, postcard. Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

53. Basilica of Notre- ostcard.

Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

-94. Photograph by the author.

-94. Photograph by the author.

56. Juste Lisch, Notre-Dame-des-Soldats, chapel inside the

1890-94. Photograph

Conservation rgionale des monuments historiques.

viii

57. Juste Lisch, detail of the apse, Notre-Dame-des-Soldats, chapel inside the Monument

-94. Photograph

documentaires, Conservation rgionale des monuments historiques.

58. A ceremony on the parvis in front of the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours,

postcard. Postcard courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

59. Postcard

courtesy of M. and Mme Labergre.

60. The grotto of Massabieille at the time of the apparitions. Reprinted from Lonard-J.-

M. Cros, Histoire de Notre- , 2nd

ed., vol. 1 (Paris: Beauchesne, 1925), facing p. 128.

61. The grotto of Massabieille after the apparitions. Reprinted from E. Bordes and A.

Mialeret, Guide-souvenir des plerins Notre-Dame de Lourdes (Bordeaux: . Crugy,

1892), cover.

62. Joseph-Hugues Fabisch, statue of Notre-Dame de Lourdes in the grotto of

Massabieille, 1864. Photograph by the author.

63. Joseph-Hugues Fabisch, statue of Notre-Dame de Fourvire, Lyon, 1852, on top of

the bell tower of the old Chapel of Notre-Dame de Fourvire, next to the Basilica of

Notre-Dame de Fourvire (1872-96) by Pierre-Marie Bossan. Photograph by the author.

Voltaire and rue des Hros, Marseille, 1855-57. Photograph by the author.

65. Photograph of Hippolyte Durand. Archives et patrimoine des sanctuaires de Notre-

Dame de Lourdes, I B 3.

--

9 (1849): n. p.

9 (1849): n. p.

un chef-lieu de canton.--

-lieu de canton

9 (1849): n. p.

69. Hippolyte Durand, Chteau de Monte-Cristo, Le Port Marly, Yvelines, 1844-47.

Monuments historiques 1 (1974): 103.

ix

70. Hippolyte Durand, Villa Eugnie, Rsidence Impriale, Biarritz, Pyrnes-

Atlantiques, 1854-55. Reprinted from Genevive Mesuret and Maurice Culot,

: P. Mardaga, 1990), 40.

71. Hippolyte Durand, exterior, parish church of Saint-Jacques, Tartas, Landes, 1849-54.

Reprinted from -

monumentale (September 2004): 68.

72. Hippolyte Durand, interior, parish church of Saint-Jacques, Tartas, Landes, 1849-54.

Reprinted from -

monumentale (September 2004): 71.

73. Hippolyte Durand, exterior, Church of Saint-Martin, Peyrehorade, Landes, designed

in 1846, built from 1852 to 1857. Reprinted from Catherine Lahonde and Bertrand

Charneau, Peyrehorade, glise paroissiale Saint-Martin, Inventaire gnral du patrimoine

74. Hippolyte Durand, interior, Church of Saint-Martin, Peyrehorade, Landes, designed

in 1846, built from 1852 to 1857. Reprinted from Catherine Lahonde and Bertrand

Charneau, Peyrehorade, glise paroissiale Saint-Martin, Inventaire gnral du patrimoine

.

75. Hippolyte Durand, east faade and south elevation, Basilica of the Immacule-

Conception, Lourdes, 1862-72. Photograph by the author.

76. Hippolyte Durand, plan, Basilica of the Immacule-Conception, Lourdes. Reprinted

Le Moniteur des architectes (1869): plate 17.

77. Hippolyte Durand, interior view towards the apse at the west end, Basilica of the

Immacule-Conception, Lourdes, 1862-72. Photograph by the author.

gnral projet non-ralis faades latrales

-Dame de

Lourdes, Plans.

et patrimoine des sanctuaires de Notre-Dame de Lourdes, Plans.

80. Henry Esprandieu, Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseille, 1853-64.

Photograph by the author.

-

1 May 1864, 45.5 x 79 cm, Archives et patrimoine des sanctuaires de Notre-Dame de

Lourdes, Plans.