After Notre Dame, another iconic French church will get its spire back after 180 years

PARIS (OSV News) — Following the restoration of Notre Dame in Paris, significant work began in March on the Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Denis basilica, located near Paris. This historic site, known as the necropolis of French kings, is undergoing a major reconstruction project.

The focus is on rebuilding the north tower of the facade and the spire, both of which were destroyed in the 19th century.

On March 14, French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati symbolically laid the foundation stone for the work, together with the local mayor and Bishop Étienne Guillet of Saint-Denis. The work had often been considered over the past 40 years, but had been continually postponed until now.

“Promise kept after 180 years,” Saint-Denis said on its official website, announcing that the reconstruction project will last until 2029.

“Why should we be happy about this reconstruction?” Bishop Guillet asked during his March 14 remarks. “Because since the Middle Ages, the spires of our basilicas and cathedrals have been an opportunity to marvel at the work of man, his genius and the beauty of what he knows how to build.”

He said that “for us believers, by looking to the sky and praying, we are not fleeing from ordinary life, its struggles, its commitments. On the contrary, looking to the sky, looking to God, gives us inner strength and a reason to commit ourselves to serving our brothers and sisters.”

Located to the north of Paris, close to the athletes’ village for the Paris Olympic Games in the summer of 2024, the basilica was built on the tomb of St. Denis, a missionary bishop who died around 250, beheaded in Lutetia — now Paris. The first church on the site was probably built in the fifth century, while the actual basilica was erected in the 12th century as a Gothic masterpiece.

“The kings and queens of France placed themselves under the protection of Saint Denis, hoping to obtain eternal salvation,” the official website of the basilica says of the desire of dozens of French monarchs to be buried there.

Today, the basilica is a major tourist attraction for the 70 sumptuous sculpted tombs of 43 kings and 32 queens, as well as other important figures from the era of monarchical France, who were buried there from the Middle Ages until the 19th century.

But history also left a painful mark on the church. During the French Revolution, at the end of the 18th century, the basilica was transformed into a theater and a warehouse for wheat and flour. Later, in 1837, the spire of the north tower was struck by lightning and damaged. It was further weakened by a tornado in 1845, and dismantled in 1846, along with the tower itself, after several unsuccessful attempts to repair.

The basilica has had the status of the cathedral since 1966, when the Diocese of Seine-Saint-Denis was created by Pope Paul VI. The French state at the time had just reorganized the Paris region, creating new departments. The department of Saint-Denis was then known as a “communist stronghold,” populated by many workers. Traditionally, the church there was associated with the rich bourgeoisie of the ruling class.

Today, the department and town of Saint-Denis is still characterized by the density and poverty of its inhabitants, and their diversity of origin, as they come from more than 130 different nationalities. Many are from North African countries that were part of the French colonial empire until the 1950s. Among them, there is a particularly high proportion of Muslims. They are in the majority in some neighborhoods.

In this context, Mayor Mathieu Hanotin sees the restoration as a unifying project that will boost local pride and highlight the importance of cultural heritage in the community.

“It is the beginning of a collective adventure, driven by a strong ambition: to revive an emblematic monument and pass on our heritage to the future generations,” he wrote on social media platform LinkedIn. “To revive the spire of Saint-Denis is to affirm that heritage and culture have their rightful place in a working-class city.”

In his desire, the mayor of Saint-Denis can rely on the new bishop, who was installed in the iconic basilica on Feb. 16. Age 48, Bishop Guillet is the youngest bishop in France and has a solid experience with young people in densely populated neighborhoods with low-income residents.

For about 10 years, he was a parish priest in Trappes, south of Paris, where many more Muslims than Christians live. “Being a priest also means being a friend to non-Christians,” he told the local media, emphasizing that in Trappes, “an overwhelming majority of residents had faith.”

On March 14, in a small church next to the basilica in Saint-Denis, Bishop Guillet celebrated a special Mass for the architects, artisans and artists who will be working on the basilica.

At the top of the basilica, he blessed the first stone of the construction site.

“This spire will be an invitation to look higher and to recharge our batteries,” he said in his remarks. “This spiritual elevation, which deeply honors the heart of every man, is good news!”

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