Bois-Chenu Basilica

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Bois-Chênu basilica
inner space

The Basilica of Bois-Chenu or Ste-Jeanne-d'Arc is a Roman Catholic Church in Domremy-la-Pucelle in the French region of Grand Est . The church of the diocese of Saint-Dié is dedicated to Johanna von Orleans , who was born here, and bears the title of a minor basilica .

history

The foundation stone of the church was laid on November 3, 1881 in the immediate vicinity of the place in the Vosges , where the shepherdess Jeanne is said to have heard the voices for the liberation of France. It was built by him and then by Émile and René Demay until 1900 according to the plans of the architect Paul Sédille . The original building was planned to be smaller and was dedicated to the Archangel Michael . The first mass was celebrated in 1896 when the church was still under construction. In 1897, four bells were installed in the new bell tower. In the following years Joan of Arc was beatified by Pope Pius X in 1909 , and in 1920 she was canonized by Pope Benedict XV. After she was in 1922 by Pope Pius XI. had been declared the second patron saint of France, the consecration of the church at Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc took place in 1926 . On June 4, 1939, the church received by Pope Pius XII. awarded the rank of minor basilica . In 2006 it was declared a monument historique , since 2013 in the Classé level.

architecture

The single-nave church was built in the free neo-Romanesque style on a cross-shaped floor plan. The high tower faces the Maas valley with an arcade on both sides and is illuminated in the evening. A figure of Joan of Arc rises on the lantern above the crossing dome . The building is characterized by its polychromy, consisting of an alternation of pink granite from the Vosges and limestone from Euville on the Meuse.

Furnishing

The interior is decorated with large mosaics and eight paintings by Lionel Royer depicting the lives of the saints. In the crypt dedicated to Our Lady of the Armies is the statue of Our Lady of Bermont , which Jeanne knew and before whom she used to pray. Two paintings by Alphonse Monchablon commemorate The Sacrifice of the Army and the Navy during the War of 1870 (one of the Army, the other of the Navy).

Jeanne and their voices

In the forecourt of the basilica there are several statues, in particular: Jeanne, who gave herself to God in order to fulfill her task (work by the sculptor Messer, donated in 1946 by the government of the Canadian province of Quebec ) and Jeanne and her voices by the sculptor André-Joseph Allar from the Year 1894.

The peal of the basilica currently consists of five bells. In 1897 four bells weighing 3,440 kg, cast by Farnier von Robécourt, were incorporated into the new church of Domrémy. In 1926, a fifth bell was added to commemorate the diamond priestly jubilee of Alphonse-Gabriel Foucault, Bishop of Saint-Dié.

literature

  • Hubert Collin, Christian Corvisier: Domrémy-la-Pucelle. Basilique du Bois-Chenu , in Congrès archéologique de France. 164th year. Nancy et Lorraine méridionale. 2006 , Société française d'archéologie, Paris, 2008, pp. 293-296, 978-2-901837-32-9

Web links

Commons : Basilica of Bois-Chenu  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Basilique Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc on gcatholic.org
  2. ^ Apostolic Letter Galliam, Ecclesiæ filiam primogenitam , Pope Pius XI., March 2, 1922
  3. ↑ entry no. PA88000042 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French).
  4. ↑ Toiles peintes de Alphonse Monchablon a Domrémy la Pucelle


Coordinates: 48 ° 25 ′ 41 ″  N , 5 ° 40 ′ 10 ″  E