The Great Churches of Paris: Le Panthéon

This week: The Neoclassical Churches of Before and After the Revolution (Which Changed Everything)

Louis XV and XVI introduced the Neoclassical style to church-building in Paris, characterized by its porches and colonnades reminiscent of Roman temples, with the construction of the Église Saint-Geneviève, that became the Panthéon during the Revolution. Napoléon Ier adopted the same style when he built the “Temple to the Glory of the Great Army”, which became the Église de la Madeleine after he was overthrown. The Revolutionary government closed all churches and monasteries and confiscated all their lands and property. Churches were converted into “Temples of Reason” or used as warehouses. Many were sold to speculators who demolished them to create land for real estate development. The churches that survived suffered serious damage and were in need of repair once they were allowed to reopen pursuant to the Concordat signed by First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII in 1801.

The Evolution of the Church and Ecclesiastical Architecture in Paris From the Middle Ages to Today

Every Thursday at 12 noon Central Time in Chicago/1 pm Eastern Time in Miami/19h Central European Time in Paris – from January 12 through February 16, 2023

Following the success of the Grands Châteaux of the Loire and Ile-de-France and The Making of the French Garden series of online talks, Russell Kelley spent the summer visiting the most beautiful churches of Paris! Our curator extraordinaire returns to offer a series of 6 talks packed with information about another important pillar of France’s cultural and architectural heritage: the extraordinary variety of churches that were built in every commune in France – but especially in Paris – over the past one thousand years.

Russell Kelley is the curator and moderator of the past two winters’ Zoom lecture series on the “Grands Châteaux of the Loire and Île de France” and the “Making of the French Garden”. He has lived in Paris for 30 years and is the author of The Making of Paris: The Story of How Paris Evolved from a Fishing Village into the World’s Most Beautiful City (Lyons Press, 2021).

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This program is presented in partnership with the Alliance Française Miami Metro with communication support from the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA, the French Heritage Society, and the Association of American Women in Europe.

Through our Entrée Libre initiative, free admission to this program is offered to students enrolled in French Studies in universities and French schools in Chicago and the Midwest. You MUST register with an .edu address to get a Zoom link for the event.