Sainte-Chapelle, The “Jewel Box” Church

Sainte-Chapelle (Holy Chapel), located within the Palais de Justice complex on the Ile de la Cité in the center of Paris, was designed and built to house the relics of the Crucifixion. In 1239, King Louis IX bought the crown of thorns from Venetian merchants for 135,000 livres, probably equivalent to $540,000 today. It was an enormous sum at the time and equal to more than half the annual revenues of the royal domain. The chapel to house the relics cost 40,000 livres to build. The king bought fragments of the Holy Cross from Baudoin II, king of Jerusalem in 1241. Because King Louis did not want these Holy Relics to be scattered, he had a church built inside the Royal Palace on the Ile de la Cite. Having the Holy Relics inside the palace emphasized the close relationship between the relics and the monarchy; building Sainte-Chapelle was both an act of faith and a political stratagem, meant to enthrone the kingdom of France as a leader of western Christianity of the first order and King Louis IX as the central monarch of western Christendom. During a crusade, King Louis IX died of plague; he was canonized, and is, today, known as Saint Louis.  

The church, which has two levels, was consecrated on April 26th, 1248. The ground level served as the parish church for all the inhabitants of the palace, and the relics were kept on the upper level. A staircase  enabled people to reach the upper level on the southern side. From that time on, a choir screen was added to isolate clergymen and upper class people from common people.

Sainte-Chapelle  suffered considerable damage during the French Revolution. The furniture, the stalls and the choir wall disappeared, the organs were transported to Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, the spire was knocked down, the tympans damaged, and the precious relics were scattered. Unfortunately, some relics were never found again, and those that were recovered are now housed at  Notre Dame Cathedral. From 1846 onwards--until this very day-- significant restoration work has been undertaken, and  Sainte-Chapelle is recovering its previous splendor.

Palais de Justice gate from the outside, looking in 

Palais de Justice, now the home of the French Supreme Court. 

The spire of Sainte-Chapelle is just visible in the upper left corner of the photo. In order to enter the building complex and visit Sainte-Chapelle, everyone has to first go through a security screening, similar to an airport screening, probably because it is a common entrance for the church and the law court.  

The elaborate portal from the inside, looking out on the street in front of the Palais de Justice, Boulevard du Palais. Go right on the boulevard, cross the Seine, and you are at Chatelet. Go left, cross the Seine, and you are at Boul’ Mich--Boulevard Saint-Michel with its magnificent fountain.

An exterior view of Sainte-Chapelle. 

Due to ongoing construction, the entrance to Sainte Chapelle was at the end of a narrow walkway, so there was only room enough to get a close-up photo. During the French Revolution,  the outside ornamentation was damaged, especially the spire, whose fleurs-de-lys were considered a symbol of the French monarchy. You can see a row of 4 fleur-de-lys on the small balcony below a stained glass panel of the upper chapel.

THE LOWER CHAPEL

The entrance to the lower chapel is through the Portal of the Virgin. The coronation of Mary is represented on the tympanum (the semi-circular space over the entrance.) A Virgin with Child decorates the trumeau (a column supporting the tympanum of a doorway at its center.)

The nave has 4 bays (a bay is the space between each set of columns.) The wall of each bay is decorated with five pointed trefoil (three-lobed) arches topped by a sexfoiled oculus (a round window with 6 lobes) The medallion within the trefoil arch represents an apostle and is set with fake gems.  

Pointed trefoil arches and a medallion representing an apostle

Trefoil arches and an apostle with raised sword in the medallion

Trefoil arches and an apostle with a staff in one hand in the medallion

Saint Louis 

The front of the chapel is a seven-section hemicycle.  (A hemicycle is a semicircular structure.)

Saint Louis

The two black columns which stand in the middle were built to bear the weight of the heavy reliquary located in the upper chapel.

Vaulted ceiling 

The vaults (a vault is an arched structure forming a ceiling) are decorated with fleur de lys, whereas the vault of the upper chapel is covered by golden stars: it's an example of the recurrent alternation between royal and divine symbols. Golden fleur de lys on a blue background are a symbol of the monarchy. The ribs are underlined with red strips with a golden L. 

On the floor are archaeological remains of  Sainte Chapelle after the damage done during the French Revolution.

Golden castilian castles on a red background on the pillars symbolize Blanche de Castille, Saint Louis’ mother. A winding staircase leads from the painted and gilded lower chapel to the porch of the upper chapel.

THE UPPER CHAPEL

Forming what amounts to a continuous wall of 50-foot-high stained glass around three sides of the chapel, fifteen huge mid-13th-century windows fill the nave and apse, while a large rose window dominates the western wall. The walls of the upper chapel are much taller than those of the lower chapel, and  they are in great part covered only by stained glass. The thinness of the columns between the stained glass windows is an example of  the exquisite mastery of gothic art. 

The stained glass windows depict different Christian themes. Every picture tells a biblical story or has religious meaning. The one right behind the main altar depicts scenes from the Passion. The panel to the right depicts Saint John the Baptist and the Book of Daniel. The panel to the left depicts Saint John the Evangelist and the childhood of Christ. And the Rose window depicts the Apocalypse. 

Vaulted ceiling 

The vault of the upper chapel is covered by golden stars, like star-filled heavens, whereas the vault of the lower chapel is decorated with fleur-de-lys, showing an alternation of the royal and the divine

The reliquary platform  

The holy relics purchased by Saint Louis were kept in this large, richly decorated reliquary, placed at the summit of the open tribune, at the back of the apse. Visible to the right of the platform is a small wooden spiral staircase which gives access to the platform. There is a staircase on the opposite side as well.

The reliquary  

An elevated  baldachin (the canopy over the platform)  acts as a visual focus for the reliquary chest. The relics were stored in a large and elaborate silver chest, la grande chasse, on which Louis spent a further 100,000 livres. The relics originally housed at Sainte-Chapelle are now in the treasury of Notre Dame Cathedral.

The main altar area has an ornately decorated, vaulted canopy structure. Just visible on the left is a small spiral wooden staircase which gives access to the platform on which la grande chasse is located. Only the king was permitted to use the stairs to take out the relics from la grande chasse for adoration by the faithful on Good Friday. (During the French Revolution, there was a ban on conserving relics and all other sacred symbols linked to the kings, and la grande chasse was melted down at that time.)

Angels holding a crown of thorns between them adorn the arched opening.

  

A stained glass pane

In this pane and all the others, the full biblical story of humanity is recounted, from the Creation to redemption through Christ. Each window, divided into arches, reads from left to right and from top to bottom.

Restoration sign over the rose window 

Behind the restoration sign, the 16th century rose window shows the Apocalypse around an enthroned Christ in the central oculus. It’s Judgment Day, with Christ in the center of the chaos and miracles that accompany the Apocalyptic last days. During the past half-century, operations to restore and protect the windows from the effects of air pollution on the stained glass have been initiated.

Statues of the twelve apostles stand on each side of the nave against the columns that mark the bays. Leaned against the wall, they symbolize the columns of the Church. Unfortunately, they are now unidentifiable because distinctive marks have now disappeared. Each carries a disk marked with the consecration crosses that were traditionally marked on the pillars of a church at its consecration

Apostle with consecration cross

Apostle with consecration cross

Apostle with consecration cross

Apostle with consecration cross

The spire of Sainte Chapelle was pulled down during the French Revolution and a new one was built in 1853.

An entrance ticket for Sainte-Chapelle alone costs 8.5 euros. Combined tickets for Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie cost 12.5 euros. The two venues are close together, and can be seen easily in less than two hours.

FYI: Chamber music concerts are held in Sainte-Chapelle. A schedule of performances and e-tickets are available at: www.classictic.com/en/special/concerts-in-la-sainte-chapelle/216/

UPDATE from a report by Tom Heneghan, Reuters Religion Editor, March 21, 2014

For photos of the event, go to: http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2014/03/21/crown-of-thorns-relic-paraded-from-notre-dame-to-sainte-chapelle-in-paris/

Crown of Thorns relic paraded from Notre Dame to Sainte Chapelle in Paris

“A relic venerated by Christians as the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus was paraded on Friday in Paris from Notre Dame Cathedral to the dazzling Gothic chapel built to house it in the 13th century. The relic rarely leaves the cathedral and its return to the Sainte Chapelle, a medieval gem known for its soaring stained glass windows, and the Mass said to celebrate it were the first such events there since the 1789 French Revolution.

The French Catholic Church staged the procession, the start of a weekend of ceremonies, to mark the 800th anniversary of the birth of Saint Louis, who as King Louis IX bought the relic in 1239 from Baldwin II, the cash-strapped Latin Emperor of Constantinople, and brought it to Paris. Installed in Sainte Chapelle, which was finished in 1248, it stayed there until the Revolution.

The relic is stored at the back of Notre Dame, barely visible in an elaborate reliquary, but it is presented to believers for veneration on the first Friday of each month and every Friday during Lent.”