The Sacred Heart of Sacre-Coeur
Picture: The Sacre-Coeur Basilica, Montmartre, Paris
For me, one of the great tragedies of modern life is that one can visit a cathedral and not be moved. We visit these grand places of worship while on the tourist trail, marvel at the architecture, admire the artworks, shuffle round the various altars and look at the pretty flickering candles before exiting via the gift shop and taking a photo for posterity. We may feel curiosity or admiration within these ‘holy’ places, but little more. I have experienced this visiting Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral (Catholic), Geneva’s Saint Peter’s Cathedral (Protestant) and many others.
But not at the Sacre-Coeur Basilica in Montmartre, Paris. From the moment I walked in I was moved. Moved to worship.
From the moment you enter the church through the big, creaky door only one sight catches your eye. Jesus. There he stands, arms stretched wide, towering above the altar in mosaic form. His eyes pierce you. You can’t avoid him. His face is visible from almost every corner of the church, filling this ‘holy’ space. ‘Wow,’ said a girl sliding into a pew behind us, ‘look at Jesus.’
Exactly.
A Holy Hill
Montmartre has a rich religious history.
The Romans worshipped Mars and Mercury on this hill, and before them Druids most likely held ceremonies here. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Francois-Xavier and a few others gathered on this hill to consecrate themselves to God, take voluntary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and found the Jesuit order. Saints Germain, Bernard, Vincent de Paul, Francis de Sales, Thomas Aquinas and Joan of Arc have all worshipped here, plus numerous kings and queens. Saint Denis, the first Bishop of Paris, was decapitated on this hill in 250AD – hence the name montmartre, the ‘mountain of the martyr’. An Abbey was founded here in 1147. Built between 1876 and 1912, the Sacre-Coeur Basilica is relatively new. After a series of military defeats it was constructed as an act of penitence.
As this larger image of the dome’s mosaic shows, the very atmosphere of the Basilica reflects this spirit of humble worship.
- Look at Mary on the left. So often the dominant figure in Catholic cathedrals, here she has taken her place as a worshipper, standing beside and below Jesus, her adoring face pointing us to him.
- Beside Mary is a tiny Pope Leo XIII offering Jesus a globe of the world, a symbol of the entire human family. Directly behind him are representatives of the world’s five continents (France has traditionally counted five continents), all in cultural dress. And behind them are various Catholic popes and cardinals – all in a state of reverence.
- To the right of Jesus stands the Archangel Michael and, beside him, Joan of Arc with her sword, and a white-gowned ‘France incarnate’ offering her crown back to Jesus. Members of French royalty and government, and some cardinals particularly connected with the Basilica’s creation, stand or kneel behind her.
- In the heavens on our left, biblical saints Peter, John and Paul are joined by saints ‘of the world’: Augustine, Dominique, Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, Ignatius of Antioch, Agnes, Gertrude, Catherine of Sienna, Rose of Lima and Theresa of Avila.
- On the right in the heavens are saints ‘of France’: Lazarus of Marseille, Mary-Madeleine, Martha, Denis, Martin, Genevieve, Bernard, Louis, Francis de Sales, Vincent de Paul, Margaret-Mary, John Eudes, Sofia Barat.
- And don’t miss the ornate red and gold line connecting Jesus with a dove, representing the Holy Spirit, and a crowned figure, representing the Father.
Here is the One God – Father, Son and Spirit – being worshipped by France and all of creation.
A Sacred Heart
On first entering the church, Merryn and I sat in a pew, mesmerised by the mosaic. A little while later we joined the procession of visitors wandering the outer rim of the Basilica, looking at its altars and artworks. But afterward I made my way back into the centre region of the church, the area roped-off for worshippers. I couldn’t resist. I had to sit at the feet of Jesus again. I returned a couple of mornings later to do the same thing. I’ve never done that before.
A closer inspection of that giant mosaic reveals an interesting character hidden amongst the worshipping throng. On the right-hand side a solitary individual defies the bowing crowd. He is leaning casually against a pillar, facing away from Jesus – unmoved by either the glorified Christ or the piety of those around him. Similarly, Sacre-Coeur still has its tourists and passersby. They slip into the roped-off area to natter to a friend, not pray; to review their Lonely Planet guides, not their prayer books; to sneak a forbidden photo of the mosaic rather than worship the God of the universe. Ushers soon attend to them.
But what surprised me was not this but the amount of people truly in awe of the One before them. Some read their Bibles. Others knelt on the prayer rails. Many sat in silent adoration. One young guy was busy mouthing silent prayers, his eyes fixed heavenward, as gentle murmurs echoed softly around the cathedral.
Sacre-Coeur means ‘sacred heart’. This Basilica takes the sacred heart of Jesus as its theme. As you may know, the Sacred Heart is a Catholic devotion that centres on the compassionate love Jesus has for humanity. The accompanying artwork for this devotion features Jesus’ exposed physical heart in sometimes (to me at least) ghoulish ways. But make no mistake about its meaning: here is a heart that is both divine and human, full of love and pain (notice the crown of thorns it wears in the Sacre-Coeur mosaic), full of mercy and compassion.
The Sacre-Coeur Basilica claims to have been a place of 24-hour prayer for over 125 years.
Such is the attraction of Jesus’ sacred heart.
Every Knee Bows
After one of my visits to Sacre-Coeur I scribbled the following in my journal:
Bring your accusations – every accusation that could be leveled at a man – and throw them at him. Selfish, brutish, arrogant, ignorant, proud, racist, sexist, rude, imprudent, indulgent, negligent, lustful, disruptor of the peace for change’s sake or acquiescent to the status quo…
None of them will stick.
Persian princes bowed before him (Matthew 2:1-12). Grit-covered shepherds bent the knee (Luke 2:8-20). In Montmartre, a nation bows to him, plus cardinals and royals and people from every corner.
Try and find another worthy of the honor.
Try and find one.
Just try.
The sacred heart devotion apparently came about after the french saint Margaret-Mary had a vision of Jesus. She said of him, ‘Here is the heart that so loved man and is so little loved’. Sadly, France today pursues an ever-quickening race to secularism, ignoring the Heart that has changed so many lives throughout its history and wrought so many saints from its land.
Thankfully, however, many others are discovering this sacred heart. Some even in Montmartre.
Bowing in worshipful reverence to the Sacred Heart of Sacre-Coeur.
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Question: If you’ve visited Sacre-Coeur Basilica before, what was your impression? When were you last moved to worshipful reverence? Share your comment now.
Brad27
I was just there a few days ago. I was also there 30 years ago when 11 years old. I feel the same way about it as you do. I think I have never felt so spiritually impacted as when looking at that mosaic. I don’t think Joan of Arc is the woman with the crown though. I think she is the one just to the left, kneeling with the sword on left side and wearing armor… this figure has a halo, and she is a saint of France, so that would make sense. I would be curious to find out then who is offering the crown. Also, there appears to be the head of an animal, like a tiger, nosing the globe. Any ideas on that? And do you think the Baptist is the figure standing behind Mary?
Sheridan Voysey
You know, Brad, you’re right. I went and re-read my guide to the mosaic and the character with the sword is Joan of Arc, while the white-gowned woman holding the crown is ‘France incarnate’. Thanks for the note; I’ve corrected it above.
As best as I understand it, the figures immediately behind Mary are representatives of the world’s people groups, rather than explicitly religious figures. I haven’t found anything yet on that animal figure you mention.
Glad you found Sacre-Coeur worshipful too.
Brad27
Thanks for the info!
diana
i am 62 years of age, but when i was 39 years old i visited Paris and did the usual tourist haunts. But a strange thing happened to me as i entered the sacre-coeur, a lady gave me a leaflet as i was entering and i put it in my bag, i then took only five steps into the building and then i sobbed uncontrolaby and it went on and on, i was petrified and embarased as i have never sobbed in my life, cried a bit but not this, i kept telling myself to shut up – i was in control but the person inside of me wasn,t (WHO WAS IT THAT WAS MAKING ME DO THIS). to this day i can honestly say that i have no recollection of the beautiful things that people see when they walk into the sacre-coeur
Sheridan Voysey
What a fascinating experience. What was written on the leaflet? Did you ever work out what your tears were over?
Holly
Hi Diana,
My name is Holly. I visited this place recently. My partner it’s extremely atheist, where as I am very spiritual, but never considered myself religious. We had no idea about the history behind this place and only stumbled upon it because I wanted to see one of the streets near. Before we entered we looked upon the view of Paris. My partner said he felt quite emotional looking at the view and the thought of so many people with hopes and dreams living in Paris. I found it so sweet but thought nothing much more of it. As we walked in we could hear women singing. I was so amazed by how beautiful the building was inside. We both took our time walking around separately for a while. I began to feel really emotional and felt like I wanted to cry. I thought maybe I was a bit hormonal and overly sensitive. I thought I was being silly even though I found myself holding back tears. Before we even got to the building I was feeling really anxious. I felt fine all morning but it was only when we got to the top of the area I began feeling a bit dizzy and had a pounding heart. I do get anxiety from time to time so I thought I was just generally anxious. But I was aware that it started at a random point. As I was walking around the building I began to feel really connected and, as I said, wanted to cry. It made me feel extremely religious and I felt a presence of god. I kept saying to my partner the energy in here is really high… do you feel it ?. We both came away saying how strange and amazing it was. Later in the evening we met a lady in a bar. She explained to us the history behind this place and how many people say that they feel the energy change. I explained to her that I felt anxious before we got to the building and she stated her mother gets the same symptoms I do when she visits here. It’s really reassuring to hear that someone has experienced something similar.
Sheridan Voysey
What a special story. Thanks for sharing.
Joe
In order to line up people to pray through the night (for the 24 hour prayer event), Sacre Coeur offers a bed to pilgrims who will come and promise to take one of the hours between . . . 11-7 (I think those are the hours). Last summer I took them up on it (they charge maybe 3 or 4 E). Slept till 2, got up and prayed for an hour or so in the basilica, then back to sleep. A sort of hostel bed in space made private by curtains not walls. Checked in by the lovely nuns in the evening and had plenty of time to wander Montmarte and check out the crowds and the performance artists just outside (it was, after all, a summer weekend). All participants reconvened for a late night mass and prayer. I then left the next day for the Camino de Santiago (pilgrimage).
Sheridan Voysey
I didn’t know about the opportunity. So glad you took it up, Joe. Wonderful.
Diane Lucio
I visited this church many years ago and fell in love with it. It made me cry when I walked in. Is there a way I can get a print of the picture you have on your web site?