France and the Cult of the Sacred Heart: An Epic Tale for Modern Times (Studies on the History of Society and Culture) (Volume 39)

In a richly layered and beautifully illustrated narrative, Raymond Jonas tells the fascinating and surprisingly little-known story of the Sacré-Coeur, or Sacred Heart. The highest point in Paris and a celebrated tourist destination, the white-domed basilica of Sacré-Coeur on Montmartre is a key monument both to French Catholicism and to French national identity. Jonas masterfully reconstructs the history of the devotion responsible for the basilica, beginning with the apparition of the Sacred Heart to Marguerite Marie Alacoque in the seventeenth century, through the French Revolution and its aftermath, to the construction of the monumental church that has loomed over Paris since the end of the nineteenth century. Jonas focuses on key moments in the development of the cult: the founding apparition, its invocation during the plague of Marseilles, its adaptation as a royalist symbol during the French Revolution, and its elevation to a central position in Catholic devotional and political life in the crisis surrounding the Franco-Prussian War. He draws on a wealth of archival sources to produce a learned yet accessible narrative that encompasses a remarkable sweep of French politics, history, architecture, and art. Preliminaries......Page 1 Contents......Page 7 Illustrations......Page 9 Acknowledgments......Page 13 An Epic Tale for Modern Times......Page 17 The Sacred Heart Visits the Charollais......Page 25 Prefiguration......Page 50 The French Revolution, Catholic Anxieties, And The Sacred Heart......Page 70 The Sacred Heart and the Counter-revolution in the Vende ́e......Page 107 The Sacred Heart and the Return of Kings......Page 134 Rome, War, and the Onset of the Terrible Year......Page 163 Building the Church of the National Vow......Page 193 A Modern Magdalene Seeks Forgiveness......Page 214 A Vision Captured in Mosaic......Page 240 Notes......Page 261 Bibliogr aphy......Page 293 Index......Page 319 "Raymond Jonas tells the story of the Sacre-Coeur, or Sacred Heart. The highest point in Paris and a celebrated tourist destination, the white-domed basilica of Sacre-Coeur on Montmartre is a key monument both to French Catholicism and to French national identity. Jonas constructs the history of the devotion responsible for the basilica, beginning with the reputed apparition of the Sacred Heart to Marguerite-Marie Alacoque in the seventeenth century, through the French Revolution and its aftermath, to the construction of the monumental church that has loomed over Paris since the end of the nineteenth century."--BOOK JACKET. The story of the church of the Sacred Heart in Paris, a monument to French Catholicism and national identity, is told in this text, focusing on key moments in its development and drawing on archival sources encompassing French politics and history ON ONE OF MY FIRST VISITS to Paris, a solicitous friend-who also happened to be a distinguished historian of modern France-graciously took me on a tour of historic sites around the city.