The Saint-Pierre de Montmartre church is a Roman Catholic parish church located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, at the top of the Montmartre hill, at n°2 rue du Mont-Cenis, west of the Sacré-Cœur basilica.
It is one of the two Catholic parish churches of the hillock with the church of Saint-Jean de Montmartre, (At the bottom of the Hill of Montmartre). It represents since the French Revolution the oldest parish church of Paris after that of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. With the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, it is thus one of the 3 catholic places on this reduced space which is the Hill of Montmartre.
Origin of the Saint-Pierre de Montmartre church
Started in 1133, the church of Saint-Pierre, one of the oldest in Paris, was completed in 1147, consecrated by Pope Eugene III, a Cistercian, assisted by St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Peter the Venerable, abbot of Cluny, in the presence of King Louis VII the Younger and his mother, Queen Adélaïde of Savoy. That high dignitaries of the Church and Royalty.
The year 2017 marked the 870th anniversary of its dedication and... that of the royal Benedictine abbey of Montmartre, of which it is the only vestige. For more than six centuries, it was both parish church and abbey church of the royal monastery of the Benedictine nuns of Montmartre.
The religious fervor around the church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre
It is considered by the people, the nobles and the kings as a traditional pilgrimage route. The fervor around the cult of Our Lady of Montmartre is such that on August 15, 1534, it is first of all to her that Ignatius of Loyola and his companions entrust their project of religious life, before going down below, to the chapel of Martyrium.
The history of Notre-Dame de Montmartre Abbey came to an abrupt end in 1794. During the Revolution, the last abbess was guillotined and the other nuns were expelled. The abbey and the original statue of the Virgin are destroyed. Threatened several times with demolition, the parish church of Saint-Pierre miraculously survived.
The survival of the church of Saint-Pierre
In 1794, the apse of the church was damaged by the construction of the Chappe tower above it. As a result, the eastern parts of the church were not restored to worship when it was reopened in 1803.
In 1876, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre was built to the east of the chevet of the church of Saint-Pierre, partially on parish land: the rue du Cardinal-Guibert, which separated the two churches, did not yet exist. All attention was focused on the new basilica, and the church of Saint Peter was almost forgotten.
Then, after long procrastination, the construction of the new church Saint-Jean de Montmartre was decided, and the work began in 1894. This new church, located on the rue des Abbesses, near the old abbey at the bottom of the hill, was quite close to the old church of Saint Pierre and was also very spacious. In 1890, the choir of Saint Pierre threatened to collapse. In 1896, the closing of the church of Saint Pierre for security reasons seems to be definitive. In 1895, even the clergy questioned the advisability of maintaining the church of Saint Peter once the church of Saint John was completed.
However, the decision to save it was taken at the last minute, on October 12, 1897. The city council finally decided that the church would be preserved in its entirety. The architect Louis Sauvageot was charged with the elaboration of a project, which received the approval of the Ministry of Fine Arts. The restoration work began in 1900 and lasted five years. The church of Saint-Pierre then obtained its current appearance. It was classified as a historical monument on May 21, 1923 and is now a high place of Christian spirituality in the north of the capital.
The painter Gazi, bedeau of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre
Gazi the Tatar, pseudonym of Gazi Ighan Ghirei, born in 1900 in the Crimea and died in Paris 18th November 1975, is a painter and poet Montmartre. Gazi is a nickname that means "victorious", which he gave himself although he did not participate in any military battle.
Around 1934, Gazi met Suzanne Valadon, the mother of the painter Maurice Utrillo. The friendship that united them encouraged Suzanne to resume painting at the end of her life, encouraged also by Pablo Picasso and other artists. From 1935, he lived with Suzanne, whom he considered his adoptive mother, and Maurice, her son, as his brother in law.
In 1938, Gazi was a beadle at the church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre and, moved by a memory of Suzanne Valadon's youth, he undertook the restoration of the cult of Notre-Dame de Montmartre.
The return of worship at the Church of St. Peter of Montmartre after 147 years of interruption
After researching the history of Notre-Dame, Gazi sent a file to the diocese of Paris, following which Cardinal Suhard, Archbishop of Paris, officially recognized after 147 years the return of the cult to Notre-Dame de Montmartre in veneration of Notre-Dame de Montmartre, patron saint of artists around the world. It was on November 20, 1942. After having been at the origin of the Amicale des Artistes, founded on December 23, 1945, GAZI also created the annual Tribute of the Artists to their Patron Saint, from May 1946. He will remain present with her until his death, in the night of All Saints' Day 1975. GAZI de Notre Dame de Montmartre, as he called himself, is buried on the Butte Montmartre, not far from the church, in the Saint-Vincent cemetery. His grave is close to that of Maurice Utrillo.
The painter decorated the current statue of the Virgin, a work of anonymous origin providentially found in the church of Saint Pierre amidst rubble during repair work. GAZI also paints his millennial vocation with devotion. The faithful can finally contemplate the new image of Our Lady of Montmartre: a "very beautiful and graceful Madonna, with her arms crossed on her chest", as GAZI himself describes her.
In 1946, GAZI gave Our Lady of Montmartre her second name with a universal dimension, deeply rooted in the teaching of the Catholic Church on the Virgin Mary and approved by Cardinal SUHARD: Our Lady of Beauty.
The Calvary Cemetery (Cimetière du calvaire) next to Saint Peter's
Next to the Church Saint Pierre is the Calvary Cemetery. Closed in 1823, now a classified site, the smallest and oldest cemetery in Paris is only open on November 1st.
Note that Montmartre has 3 cemeteries: the Calvaire cemetery, the Saint-Vincent cemetery (6 rue Lucien-Gaulard) opened in 1831 where Gazi and Utrillo are buried and the main cemetery (or North cemetery) also called Montmartre cemetery (20 Avenue Rachel) where several famous artists are buried (See "Promenade ...)
Classified objects of the Saint-Pierre de Montmartre church
The Saint-Pierre church contains seven pieces of furniture classified as historical monuments
- The great organ comes from the former church Notre-Dame-de-Lorette demolished in 1840, and was installed around 1840 on the tribune of the late 17th century in replacement of an older instrument.
- The tombstone with engraved effigy of Queen Adelaide of Savoy, who died in 1154.
- The tombstone with engraved effigy of Antoinette Auger, twenty-ninth abbess of Montmartre, who died in 1539.
- The tombstone of Catherine de La Rochefoucault-Cousages, forty-second and penultimate abbess of Montmartre, died in 1760.
- The tombstone with engraved effigy of Mahaut du Fresnoy, tenth abbess of Montmartre, died in 1280.
- The funeral slab with engraved effigy of Marguerite de Mincy, a nun of the abbey, who died in 1309.
- The baptismal font in stone of liais, in the shape of a cradle, dating from 1537. The decoration consists of foliage and a coat of arms carried by two cherubs.
Recent contributions to the Church of Montmartre
Mr. Desmaret, following the death of his wife, offered 27 stained glass windows made by the master glazier Max Ingrand in 1952 and 1953.
In 1980, the Italian sculptor Tommaso Gismondi offered six bronze panels for the three portals of the western façade. They were cast in Rome and blessed by Pope John Paul II on March 26, 1980, before being sent to Paris. Entirely covered with bas-reliefs, they represent scenes from the lives of Saint Denis, Saint Peter and the Virgin Mary. These are the three patron saints of the church and the parish. Also in 1980, Gismondi offered a door for the Calvary cemetery, also in bronze, but with an openwork design and a different style. It illustrates the Resurrection of Christ.
In 1988 / 1989, the church underwent a major restoration campaign under the aegis of the city of Paris
Contemporary with the choir of the desacralized church of the priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, the church of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre is the second oldest parish church in Paris, after the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, whose bell tower, nave and transept date from the year 1000.
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