5.12.11

Chapel of Saint Vincent de Paul



The Chapel of Saint Vincent de Paul (95 rue de Sèvres) is the church of the Vincentians, brothers and priests of the Congregation of the Mission. It dates from 1827. The Congregation moved here after having been driven out from their previous installations by the Revolution.

















































Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and the Anglican Churches. His younger years included that he was taken captive by Turkish pirates and spent two years in Tunis in slavery, escaped, later worked as chaplain to Marguerite de Valois (La Reine Margot)… In 1625 he founded the Congregation of the Mission, better known as Vincentians or Lazarists (related to the “Saint Lazare Enclosure” in Paris where it all started, where Vincent lived the last 30 years of his life and where the congregation remained until, as said above, driven out by the Revolution). The Lazarists are today present in some 80 countries. Vincent was, and still is, a “popular” saint, renowned for compassion, humility and generosity. Later, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul was created, dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing direct practical assistance to anyone in need, today present in some 130 countries and with about a million members, including non-Catholics. In Paris, many churches are related to Vincent’s activities, including the Church of Saint Vincent de Paul (see previous post), close to where the “Saint Lazare Enclosure” was situated.
A richly adorned silver shrine contains the body of Saint Vincent de Paul (created by J-P-C Odiot , previously “jeweler” of the Napoleon’s court). On the skeleton, face and hands have been redesigned and Vincent seems to rest quietly.



Vincent was also together with Sainte Louise de Marillac the co-founder of the Daughters of Charity. Their mother house is located very close (140 rue du Bac), (also known for their "Miraculous Medal") where you can find her remains as well as the heart of Vincent.
Louis Braille (1809-52), inventor of the Braille writing system (himself blind by accident since the age of three), was also an excellent organist. He was the organist of this church the last seven years of his life.

















23 comments:

Nikon said...

Great photos, Peter!
You sure put a lot of work into your posts! Great job.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Absolutely grand! This is awesome!

Ola said...

nicely decorated!

Abbé Henri Proust said...

Thanks Peter for this interesting post on de Paul. I have cross-linked it with my own blog on Cardinal Richeleiu and his new town in Touraine.
http://richelieu-eminencerouge.blogspot.com/2011/12/st-vincent-de-paul.html

Ruth said...

A beautiful church tucked away, that opens to something very special inside. Thank you for the explanation of this saint. I've heard about the help of this organization for years but never knew the bio of the saint.

Cergie said...

Curieux la façade au milieu des immeubles, un accès de souris qui n'augure pas de ce qui est derrière ; curieux aussi ce corps vénéré même si c'est une reconstitution.
Je fais subitement le rapprochement entre les cartes des orgues de barbarie et l'écriture en Braille.

Shionge said...

All of us just cant get enough of your lovely awesome photos Peter...Thank you, thank you :D

Parisbreakfasts said...

AMAZING!
who would think behind that non-descript doorway lurks such a beautiful church.
You find all the hidden treasures Peter

Thérèse said...

En effet on remarque souvent le contraste de certains "immeubles" par rapport aux batiments mitoyens mais on prend rarement le temps d'en pousser la porte. Encore un beau tresor.

La Petite Gallery said...

I really learned something about
Vincent St. Never saw his image. Sorry I didn't visit this church when I was there, so much to see and do in PARIS. Merry Christmas.
come over and join my followers and I will do the same. yvonne

Louis la Vache said...

«Louis» knows where this is. Now that he sees your images, he regrets that he didn't visit when he was living in Paris.

arabesque said...

i love its gilded designs and imposing structures, but the figure of St. Vincent is a bit creepy for me. sorry. ^0^ for awhile, i thought it's real. ^0^

Paris Paul said...

My favorite is the dead guy picture. I'm a big fan of dead guy pictures.

Reminds me of the Catherine Labouré (sp) dead body in the Miraculous Medallion Chapel.

e said...

Beautiful photos and thanks for the story as well.

Maria O. Russell said...

Did they hire an anthropologist to reconstruct Saint Vincent´s face? This is amazing.

Such beautiful church!

Such beautiful photos!

Thank you.

Alain said...

Cette chapelle semble avoir été grignotée par les immeubles voisins.

Starman said...

Kept meaning to visit, but never made it.

claude said...

D'extérieur, on ne peut pas dire que cette chapelle ressemble vraiment à une chapelle, mais à l'intérieur qu'est-ce qu'elle est belle.

Catherine said...

what a beautiful chapel - I must get back to Paris very soon thanks Catherine

Trotter said...

This one is absolutely gorgeous!!

Gwen said...

Thank you very much for this site - my friend and I were shopping in the Rue de Sevres and thought we would have a look - We were knocked over by the beauty, atmosphere and completeness of this church - your site is the start of an adventure to find out more about the architecture, interior (fab) and the saint. Thaniks again

seeker said...

Hi: I hope you don't mind if I use your post a reference material to honor St. Vincent de Paul.

Thank you.

Unknown said...

This is a great blog, after living in Paris for 3 years I was still stumbling over hidden treasures. This church is definitely one of them. I had walked by a couple of times before I realized that it was a church and went in.