St-Sixte d'Ars
The Saint-Sixte d'Ars basilica is a pilgrimage church in Ars-sur-Formans in the French department of Ain . It is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in Europe because of the veneration of Saint Jean-Marie Vianney (1786–1859), who was pastor of Ars from 1818 until his death and who, thanks to his spiritual strength, had already attracted crowds of people during his lifetime. In 1897 the church received the title of minor basilica .
History and architecture
Today's basilica is the result of a three-stage history. The oldest components of the building are the nave and tower of the Romanesque village church of Ars, where Vianney celebrated the liturgy and heard confession . Patron of this church since the 10th century and co-patron of today's basilica is St. Sixtus . The main pieces of furniture from Vianney's time have been preserved, especially the confessional .
As more and more people came to Ars, Jean-Marie Vianney decided to replace the old parish church with a larger building. This new church was to be the patronage of St. Philomena received, whose cult then spread widely in Italy and France and which the pastor of Ars particularly venerated. The plans for this, which were approved by Vianney, came from the Lyon architect Pierre Bossan , who later designed Notre-Dame de Fourvière . In 1862, three years after Vianney's death, the construction of the choir began. This is a polygonal central building made of white stone with a square, dome-like and figure-crowned upper floor. Once completed, the old church would have had to be demolished in order to continue the project. Against this, however, a stormy protest arose both from the inhabitants of Ars and from the outside admirers of the holy pastor who had officiated here. The construction work was stopped.
It was not until 1897 that the choir was connected to the old church under the direction of Louis Sainte-Marie-Perrin , who had been Bossan's co-worker and who was now completing his unfinished buildings, in such a way that it was largely preserved. The Romanesque brick tower he built into one of two round towers with lantern flanked narthex . The Bossan's choir was surrounded by various chapel extensions. In 1904 the basilica was completed in its present form. The components from the late 19th century show the historicist - eclectic style typical of the French sacred buildings of this time with great attention to decorative detail, which is also reflected in the rich furnishings .
After the completion of the basilica in 1904, the bones of Jean-Marie Vianney were exhumed and presented for veneration in a precious shrine. Since Vianney's beatification in 1905 ( canonization followed twenty years later) he has been the main patron of the Basilica of Ars.
From 1998 to 2001 the pilgrimage church was completely restored. In 2010 it was visited by more than 500,000 people.
Web links
Coordinates: 45 ° 59 ′ 32.5 " N , 4 ° 49 ′ 23.1" E