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The church is the same historic church where Jules Verne was married in 1857, a French novelist and major literary author. It is located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris in the historic neighborhood that was once the traditional Jewish Quarter and across the street from the old Conservatory of Music. It was here at the Conservatory that many great pieces were played for the public, including Hector Berlioz who first played his Symphonie Fantastique (in 1830).
The church is centrally located with about a dozen hotels within walking distance. The parish draws parishioners from across Paris and beyond. It has also produced a handful of notable vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The church is packed on Sundays with young families with many children who are drawn by the respect and devotion shown by the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
Saint-Eugène was built by decree of the Emperor Napoleon III and dedicated to Saint-Eugène de Deuil-la-Barre in honor of the Emperor's wife, the Empress Eugénie (1826-1920) who was present for the dedication of the church.
Although there is more than one St. Eugene, Saint-Eugène de Deuil-la-Barre was the bishop of Toledo in Spain. Born in Rome, he went to Spain and later France where he became a disciple of St. Denis. Like him, he was martyred. This happened around the year 250 when Saint-Eugène was arrested just north of Paris at Deuil-la-Barre. There he was decapitated and thrown into a lake known as Lac Marchais, where Christians still pay homage to his memory.
Saint-Eugène was built during a time when the Church in France was undergoing a renewal after the anti-religious revolutionary periods. Those years of persecution gave birth to a new period of growth for the local Church in the mid-1800's that saw a boom in Catholic life and church construction.
The years of trial and persecution only contributed to growth that saw the creation of new religious orders, new vocations to the seminary and convents, the development of Marian devotion (connected to the Miraculous medal apparitions in 1830 and the Lourdes apparitions in 1858). This also led to the creating of flourishing Catholic social movements.
The Church then began to build, everywhere. The Gothic art born in France during the Middle-Ages was rediscovered and Neo-Gothic churches were planned and constructed across the land. As architects and artists looked to the past for their inspiration, France entered into a gilded period of architectural contributions, imitating previous styles including that of Saint-Chapelle, rediscovering the art and styles of the high Middle Ages.
The period of construction in the history of France is known as the Second Empire (1852-1870). The Regime and people, after the restoration, favored religious subjects in the art that it sponsored. Further, expansion of French industry brought with it economic prosperity and an influx of people to the big city. Paris grew from one-million inhabitants around 1850 to two million by the end of the century with the number of parishes growing from forty-six to sixty-nine.
New and impressive church construction flourished as Paris turned into a vast building site. Today, Paris is home to 119 churches, many of them built during this time. In fact, it can be said of the abundance of religious art created during that period of French history, "No period presents us with so many pieces of religious art executed simultaneously by such a large number of distinguished artists" (Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 861).
The church of Saint-Eugène was constructed between 1854-1855 by the architects Louis-Auguste Boileau and Louis-Adrien Lusson. It took only eighteen months to build.
It was the first church in France to use an entirely iron-framed structure for construction. This was inspired by the metal framework design seen just before with Baltards's construction in metal of the old central Halles in Paris in 1854.
This innovative new construction method was deemed perfect for a church to keep the cost down because it allowed a decrease in the thickness of the masonry walls while also allowing for quick construction, in this case under twenty months.
The interior of the church is absolutely stunning with a colorful, airy space.
Facing north, the light of the beautiful afternoon sun enters the Gothic inspired sanctuary, recalling a holy place. The display of vivid stained-glass windows harmonizes with iron piers and moldings that are painted in a variety of colors that match the glow of the stained-glass windows. Blues, reds and greens provide for a dark interior, with mythical ceiling vaults.
From the entrance the eye embraces the entire volume of the church, with the ceiling decorated with exquisite stencil work strewn with stars in the Neo-Gothic style, bright yellow in the nave and midnight blue in the apses.
The interior is clearly inspired by Sainte-Chapelle, the royal chapel in Paris of the kings of France, with darker toned colors and large windows in the apse. In addition, influences were taken from the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, an iconic monastery in Paris that was suppressed during the French Revolution.
The windows are mostly the work of master glassmakers Lusson, Gsell and Oudinot. Louis-Adrien Lusson and Gaspard Gsell created the other windows.
The unique Stations of the Cross on the main level are famous because they are depicted in fourteen stained-glass, a rare sight in the Christian world. They were the creation of Eugène-Stanislas Oudinot, based on imaged drawn by Sequin. These windows are resolutely notable because they are believed to be the only known example of the Via Crucis realized entirely in stained glass.
Another thing that makes this church so interesting is the second story seating and extra-large choir loft. The upstairs is reached by a total of four spiral staircases, crafted beautifully of strong and sturdy wood.
The centerpiece in the sanctuary is the window depicting the Transfiguration of Our Lord. In some ways this is set as a tryptic, with two other matching windows, of the Last Supper on the left and the Agony in the Garden on the right.
The altar has mosaic inlays of lilies, probably later additions. The altar itself is a polychromatic orchestra of color, depicting in the middle Christ with Sts. Peter and Paul on either side along with the four Evangelists, flanked on the side by two angels.
The sanctuary also boasts choir stalls. The pulpit alone is an incredible work of art, located in the nave, made of carven wood with a beautiful canopy. There are not pews in this church. There is a beautiful baptistry in the rear of the church, closed by an elaborate iron gate.
There are six additional altars in the church. They are dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady, St. Eugene, St. Joseph, and an interesting "Purgatory" altar where Requiem Masses are offered for the faithful departed.
Along the walls are various statues of popular saints, including Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Rita of Cascia, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Francis of Assisi, St. John Vianney and St. Joan of Arc. Recently a statue of St. Cecilia was placed in the rear of the church.
Although the church was consecrated to Saint-Eugène, in 1952 the name of Sainte-Cécile was later added as a nod to the patron saint of musicians due to the close proximity of the church to the Paris Conservatory, a college of music founded in 1795.
For this reason the church was initially deprived of bells at the time of its construction, so as to not interfere with the lessons. Many of the students of organ would visit the church to practice on the parish organ.
In 1987 the church had a complete restoration. Although it was blessed and dedicated in 1855, it was not until the Holy Year 2000 that the fully completed interior of the church was dedicated by Cardinal Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris. At that time he also blessed the new carillon, a set of bells finally installed despite the absence of a bell tower.
For more historical information on the church, see here.
