8 Place de Fourviere
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The Notre-Dame de Fourvière basilica overlooks the
city of Lyon from the top of the Fourvière hill since the late
nineteenth century.
It is built approximately on the site of
the ancient forum of Trajan, Forum vetus (the most probable
etymological hypothesis for the current name of Fourvière). On this
site, a cult was established in the middle of the Middle Ages to
Saint Thomas of Canterbury and then, quickly, to the Virgin Mary.
This double cult is concretized with the construction of a place of
devotion, the Saint-Thomas Chapel. Following a vow pronounced in
1642 by the Aldermen of Lyon to keep an epidemic of plague away from
the city, an annual pilgrimage is formed.
In the nineteenth
century, on the initiative of Cardinal Bonald, a golden statue of
Mary was erected on the bell tower, raised and reinforced in the
chapel, and the proposal to build a basilica was accepted, both to
welcome more and more visitors and in gratitude for the protection
of Lyon during the Franco-German war of 1870.
Its
neo-Byzantine style architecture or neo-Byzantine Architecture is
the work of Pierre Bossan, who, forced to supervise the site from
afar for health reasons, delegates a large part of the execution of
the work to Louis Sainte-Marie Perrin. The very particular
architecture of the building earns him many admirers, but also very
strong critics.
Owned by the Fourvière commission and not by
the archbishopric since its foundation, the basilica is therefore
not affected by the 1905 law and remains private property, in
particular thanks to the diplomacy of Mayor Édouard Herriot, less
anti-clerical than his predecessor Victor Augagneur. Nevertheless,
despite this status, the basilica obtains at the end of the
twentieth century an official recognition of its status as a Lyon
monument. The building is registered in the additional inventory of
historical monuments on September 26, 1977 ; then it was recognized
as a public utility on October 15, 1998, just before its inscription
on the world heritage list on December 5 of the same year, as a
historical Site of Lyon. Finally, on March 25, 2014, it was
classified as a historical monument.
The basilica is one of
the most visible landmarks of the agglomeration, and one of the
symbols of the city of Lyon. It gives Lyon its status as a "Marian
city". About two million pilgrims and tourists are welcomed each
year in the basilica. The basilica complex includes not only the
building, the Saint-Thomas chapel and the statue, but also the
panoramic esplanade, the Rosary garden and the Archdiocese of Lyon.
In 1168, on the ruins of the Roman forum, a chapel was built in Fourvière by Olivier de Chavannes, a canon of Saint-Jean. The small chapel, built "apud forum Veneris", is dedicated first to Saint Thomas and then to the Virgin. It is richly endowed, and entrusted to the chapter of Saint-Jean which serves it. Archbishop Jean Belles-mains endowed her in 1192 with a chapter of his own, numbering four canons; this generosity also allowed her to have her hands free for the construction of the primatial.
In the seventeenth century, Lyon was struck several times by epidemics of plague, in particular in 1628 (the most devastating), 1631, 1637, 1639 and 1642. Faced with this scourge, the aldermen of the consulate appeal to the Virgin, probably to the inspiration of the provost of merchants Alexandre de Mascrany. On April 5, 1642, a wish was decided: a procession to Notre-Dame would take place two days later towards Fourvière, in order to implore deliverance from the plague. This pilgrimage having taken place, it is chosen to perpetuate it annually. On March 12, 1643, a vote of the same assembly dedicated the entire city to Mary, and approved an annual pilgrimage, placed on September 8, the day of the Nativity of Mary.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the church of Fourvière threatens to
fall into ruin. Observations made by André Flachéron reveal in
particular the state of dilapidation of the old bell tower. The
replacement of this building was entrusted to the diocesan architect
Alphonse-Constance Duboys, and began in August 1849. This square-based
bell tower retains a medieval first floor, surmounted by two floors
dating from 1849; the third floor is octagonal in plan, and ends with a
dome.
On the latter is placed in 1852 a statue of the Virgin made
by Joseph-Hugues Fabisch, whose construction was authorized in 1851 by
Cardinal Bonald. It is a statue of 5.60 meters and more than 3 tons,
located more than 300 meters high. Her measurements are deliberately
disproportionate (hands and face too big compared to her body), in order
to appear ideally when looking at her from below.
The
inauguration, in memory of the wish of the aldermen, is scheduled for
September 8, 1852, but the bad weather hitting the north-east of France
causes a flood of the Saône and a delay in the delivery of the statue.
The feast was postponed to December 8, the date (then not officially
approved) of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a dogma that would
be proclaimed two years later by Pius IX. Because of the bad weather at
the beginning of December, a postponement to the 12th of the month is
envisaged; but the sky clears during the afternoon of the 8th. As a sign
of piety, the people of Lyon light up lanterns and place them on the
window sills: this is the birth of the Festival of Lights.
In the mid-nineteenth century, with more and more pilgrims coming to Fourvière, the project to expand the sanctuary takes shape. To buy the necessary land, Bishop Bonald created the Fourvière Commission in 1850. Its first goal is not the construction of a new building, but on the contrary the sanctification of the hill in its then state. The objectives entrusted to him (letter from the archbishop to the clergy, January 10, 1853) are to clear the chapel of "its mediocre environment", to "prevent by practical means [...] to raise new constructions on the Fourvière mountain, to stop those that are being executed and to modify those that have been completed".
Pierre Bossan, for his part, knows at his beginnings successes in
architecture. A stonemason under the guidance of his father, then a
pupil of Antoine-Marie Chenavard, he shone in his studies. The death of
his father, on February 22, 1839, forced him to leave Paris to return to
work in Lyon and feed his family there. Quickly, he made a name for
himself in religious architecture, and worked in particular on the large
restoration site of the primatial, in which he was appointed architect
in 1840. But, in 1845, convinced by his brother Joseph, he invested in a
financial company exploiting gas lighting, and abandoned the restoration
site of Saint-Jean, which was taken over entirely by Tony Desjardins.
Joseph Bossan, a mining engineer, obtains from his brother the tender
for the Alès factory; the latter neglects the construction site, and the
company goes bankrupt in December 1846. In March 1847, the architect's
creditors forced him to flee to Italy, where, except on rare occasions,
he remained until the early 1850s. This period is particularly difficult
for him: first, his brother Joseph, present with him in Palermo during
the Sicilian Revolution and the siege of the city, dies there in the
arms of Pierre, of an epidemic. Then the architect's mother died in
turn, in 1850. He himself ends up returning to Lyon, where he opens an
architectural agency and lives very modestly. On January 31, 1850,
Marie-Eugénie Mauchand was also born, who is in all likelihood his
illegitimate daughter. If this secret were to become known, the
architect would have to give up his career as a church builder.
Therefore, the child's mother, Marguerite-Henriette Mauchand, chooses to
marry Jean-François Guépratte, in order not to discredit Bossan
Around May 28, 1853, Pierre Bossan experienced a radical conversion on
the day of his meeting with the parish priest of Ars. Three weeks
earlier, on May 6, the master builder of the expansion of the small
Saint-Thomas church, Alphonse Duboys, died suddenly at the age of
twenty-eight. Many of Bossan's friends, taking advantage of the
opportunity, are trying to pressure Bishop Bonald to encourage him to
build the basilica on the hill.
On March 7, 1853, a second commission of Fourvière was created, for
its part with the aim of developing "an initiatory journey that elevates
the soul as much as the bodies and prepares them for the Encounter".
However, it was not until 1866 that the Commission and the
ecclesiastical authorities agreed on a project not to enlarge but to
build a new church. Pierre Bossan is authorized by the Commission to
unveil, on April 30, 1856, a view of the future basilica, the plans of
which were sketched before 1850 and gradually reworked, in particular
after the architect discovered Sicilian architecture. This publication,
which brings Pierre Bossan two hundred francs, and whose scale has been
distorted so that the statue of Mary dominates the basilica, arouses a
mixed reaction, especially since the expected cost of the building
amounts to two million francs. Nevertheless, on April 25, the commission
approves the project ; more unexpectedly, so did Cardinal de Bonald.
Finally, even if his agreement is not essential, the prefect and mayor
of Lyon, Claude-Marius Vaïsse, is also complimentary about the project.
The commission decided on June 2, 1858 to send Pierre Bossan to
spend five months in Rome in order to concentrate on completing the
plans. He spent two years there, in 1859 and 1860; these works were
billed to him for two hundred francs the first year, five hundred the
second. In 1866, Claude Louis Morel de Voleine noticed when reading the
plans and elevations that the golden virgin of Fabisch was lower than
the new bell towers. To ward off criticism, Pierre Bossan and Frédéric
Giniez propose the construction of a very high bell tower, part of the
northern extension of the second bay of the nave, which would receive
the statue of Mary. This project was quickly abandoned, but the
opponents still resent the new building.
During this design
phase, the Commission does not remain inactive and is fighting for the
acquisition of the land necessary for the constitution of the Rosary
Gardens. At that time, the path allowing access to the hill from Old
Lyon was owned by Pauline Jaricot, and the money that her toll (very
modest) brings in, is given to the poorest. The donation policy is such
that the donor is heavily in debt, to the tune of about four hundred
thousand francs. The Commission, joining forces with the Primatiale
factory and Pauline Jaricot's creditors, files a lawsuit against the
latter, a lawsuit that she wins but which serves her no good because the
Commission has acquired the neighboring land and built another access
road. Tired of war, Pauline Jaricot, ruined, abandons her land and burns
her archives to prevent them from constituting a document against the
Commission.
Just after 1870, many circumstances radically changed
the situation: the main one was the wish of October 8, 1870, which
placed Lyon, threatened during the war of 1870, under the protection of
Mary. In fact, victorious at the first battle of Dijon on October 30,
the Prussians were defeated at the second, in particular thanks to
Giuseppe Garibaldi and his volunteers. The Saône Valley is spared by the
German troops, and Lyon is saved. On the other hand, the Commune of Lyon
fails, faced with the takeover of the city by the National Guard. The
city, still traumatized by the uprising of Lyon against the National
Convention and the bloody reprisals exercised during the siege of Lyon
in 1793, is relieved. The basilica project, carried until then by a
minority, becomes a popular and diocesan undertaking, part of a
tradition of fulfilled vows.
Moreover, Bishop Bonald, who had
never been completely committed to the cause of the basilica, died that
same year, and was replaced by Jacques Ginoulhiac, instigator of the
vow. Several owners of land adjoining the project also died in 1870.
Finally, in 1873, the architect of the city of Lyon, Claude-Anthelme
Benoit, quite hostile to the project, retires to Cannes because of
illness. All these hazards abruptly decide on the upcoming construction
of the basilica imagined by Bossan. The latter, seeing his wish come
true when he himself has to retire for health reasons to La Ciotat, is
afraid to see a project that he has been carrying out for thirty years.
But even though he may be far from the construction site, he faithfully
monitors its execution
Pierre Bossan demands from his deputy Louis Sainte-Marie Perrin a daily report on the construction site. This correspondence, preserved, allows historians to know in detail the progress of the site, as well as many design or programming elements.
The two architects share equally a remuneration corresponding to 6%
of the costs incurred in the construction site. This sum thus
corresponds to 11,698 francs in 1873, 12,937 in 1879 and 6,391.08 in
1888. Sculptors on scaffolding earn between 40 and 90 cents an hour.
The financing is provided in large part by popular subscription. But
Paul Brac de la Perrière, in charge of the negotiations between the
Commission and Bossan, tries to limit the estimate to one and a half
million francs. For his part, Bishop Ginoulhiac sets a limit of
1,800,000 francs maximum. It was a lost sentence, because the success of
the initial subscription (800,000 francs received before the vow, thanks
to the activism of Joannès Blanchon, then another 500,000 in 1872)
encourages the sponsors to show little regard for excess fees.
Nevertheless, the project is reduced by one twentieth in all its
dimensions, which reduces the total volume by more than 14%. The
estimate finally presented to the archbishop amounts to 1,720,000
francs. In 1896, when the construction site was completed, the sum spent
amounted to more than ten million francs, part of the interior and
exterior decoration still remaining to be completed.
The biggest technical problem with the foundations is the poor
quality of the basement. As a preamble, the instability of the grounds
is such that the projected basilica must be set back by three meters
compared to the initial project, which attenuates the overhanging effect
that the building enjoys in the Lyon sky (and all the less so since the
proportions are smaller than those originally planned). Then, the
subsoil consists of moraine deposits made by Alpine glaciers during the
Quaternary glaciations, placed on a base made of sandy clay, which is
ridged with networks dating partly from antiquity. The underground
networks are partly arched, at least up to a depth of eighteen meters,
and cisterns are created to drain groundwater. The first stone, which
Joannès Blanchon, president of the Commission, had Pius IX bless in
1869, was laid at the bottom of the twenty-two meter deep foundations on
November 8, 1872. About twenty meters of concrete are planned to support
the towers, eight meters for the apse and four to five meters for the
floor of the crypt.
The Lyon basement, composed of gneiss and
granite, is of poor quality for construction. As well as the ancient and
medieval builders of Lyon's monuments, Bossan and Sainte-Marie Perrin
must choose materials from elsewhere. The color of the stones, in the
architectural symbolism, matters as much as their mechanical
characteristics.
The choice of the material used for the bases -
which constitutes the second most used in volume - is based on choins
from the Hauteville-Lompnes quarry because these, white in color, recall
the virginity of Mary. The most abundant material (about 5,000 m3) is
that used for the superstructure, limestone called "pierre du Midi".
Also white in color, it lends itself particularly to sculpture. Finally,
about 825 cubic meters of Bugey travertine (or tuff) are used to build
the vaults, but are invisible, hidden under the mosaics.
For the
column pedestals, local granite is used. The 58 exterior columns
themselves are made of granite or porphyry. The sixteen columns
supporting the nave, after many hesitations, are made in the blue marble
of the Narrow Siaix quarry. They measure twenty-seven meters in height.
Each of the four columns supporting the main facade weighs fifteen tons
and cost 12,500 francs.
The construction, as in the Middle Ages, begins with the construction
of the sanctuary (choir and apse). This primacy has liturgical reasons
(to make the building available for worship as soon as possible), but
also technical reasons, the choir being the only part of the church that
is not placed on the plateau itself. Very quickly, on the proposal of
Joannès Blanchon, the apse is endowed with its two galleries. The lower
gallery, vaulted, is bordered by the canopies of the "low" church called
the "Crypt", dedicated to Joseph ; the upper gallery is in the open air,
and on one level with the choir of the upper church, Marian, "from
shadow to light".
The frame of the church, originally planned in
oak, was replaced in the project, in 1874, by a metal frame, lighter,
and allowing the installation of a slate roof, cheaper than metal (six
francs per square meter, against twenty-five). The 1,650 slates are
custom-ordered in Angers. Square, they measure 1.05 meters on a side.
The ridge is made of Volvic stone, carved in "light serrations" by
Joannis Rey (1850-1919).
The installation of the statue of the
Archangel Michael at the top of the basilica causes a new wave of
criticism. In the spirit of Pierre Bossan, "the archangel is a figure of
the Blessed Virgin". But it must be recognized that the architect,
obsessed by his basilica, takes little account of the pre-existing
chapel and the statue of the Virgin. However, the people of Lyon as a
whole are very attached to the statue and the cult of Mary. The
reproaches addressed to the statue of Saint Michael are legion. The most
acerbic (who remain anonymous) believe that "this idea comes and can
only come from a happy Masonic suggestion to dethrone Mary, in addition
the spotlight is given to Satan, proud to dominate by his hideous
figure". A cartoon of May 13, 1882 shows Guignol explaining to Gnafron
that it is necessary to destroy "this piece of equipment that the
Mariette blocked us"; the new church is still described as a "cocagne
mast" in the Decentralization of July 6, 1881. The common complaint is
therefore that the building delights the first place to Mary by putting
in her place a figure who is not part of the popular devotion of Lyon.
The Courier from Lyon even estimates that "the architect's thought is to
demolish [the old building and the statue], we will get there".
Listening to these criticisms, several Lyon residents supporting the
project propose accommodations: Joannès Blanchon suggests the
construction of a large column supporting the Virgin of Fabisch; Bishop
Caverot proposes the construction, at the junction of the two
sanctuaries, of another tower (the price of which is estimated at
200,000 francs). Bossan refuses outright, recognizing that this refusal
is partly due to personal pride: "It's admitting that we didn't think
about it and condemning ourselves by undoing at great expense what we
ourselves have done". He again proposes connection solutions (creation
of a bell tower located to the north, on a chapel dedicated to the
Sacred Heart, remodeling of the bell tower of Duboys, construction of a
campanile), none of which has been realized.
In 1884, Louis-Marie
Caverot, appointed eight years earlier to the Archbishopric of Lyon,
realizes the magnitude of Pierre Bossan's iconographic program, and
especially the theological and liturgical implications that would result
from the adoption of the entirety of this program, almost exclusively
turned towards Mary to the detriment of Jesus. On September 20, 1884, he
appointed Father Jacquier, an expert liturgist, to head a commission
responsible for negotiating with the two architects. If the negotiations
with Louis Sainte-Marie Perrin are quite fruitful, Bossan is inflexible.
The main problem concerns the naming of the altars, which should not be
the responsibility of the architect; more secondarily, the liturgists
find problematic the dedication of the chapels to the mysteries rather
than to the saints, as well as the preference given to certain episodes
of the life of Jesus and exploited by the Jansenists. Everything is
finally working out. On the one hand, a filiation is established between
the Marian cycle of the altars of Fourvière and those of
Saint-Marie-Majeure or La Minerve. On the other hand, the archbishop
appeals to Pope Leo XIII, and he allows a diplomatic settlement of the
crisis.
On June 16, 1896, the building was consecrated as a church. The only
surviving member of the 1853 Commission, Joannès Blanchon, is present.
On March 16, 1897, Leo XIII erected Notre-Dame de Fourvière as a minor
basilica.
However, the basilica is still unfinished, especially
with regard to the ambitious iconographic program dreamed up by Pierre
Bossan. Thus, at many locations (keystones, corbels, etc.), the rough
blocks have been laid, but are not carved. As for the mosaics depicting
the Heresies, located at the foot of the main altar of the upper church,
they are hastily completed the night before the inauguration.
In
1920, Jean-Baptiste Larrivé proposed for the upper church a project for
a pulpit decorated with characters dressed in contemporary costumes.
However, the Fourvière commission refused this project and the sculptor
had to present a new program in 1924.
As early as 1913, Louis Sainte-Marie Perrin noticed that the masonry
of the building was playing. This diagnosis was confirmed in 1919 when
the execution architect brought an engineer on site. But these initial
findings are not followed by work. The basilica waits almost a century
before falling tesserae of the mosaics of the vaults as well as the
general condition of the pediment justify the launch of emergency works,
in November 2006.
The lantern tower supporting the statue of
Mary, which was also identified as fragile in 1923, was immediately
consolidated, under the project management of Sainte-Marie Perrin and
engineer Mauvernay, by reinforced concrete ribs. But the state of the
tower is nevertheless bad in 2006: the concrete ribs are cracked, those
of oxidized metal, the underside of the dome crumbles and the staircase
is split. These degradations should be attributed to the aging of the
structures, which accelerated in particular under the effect of Storm
Martin. On the advice of the engineer Bernard Babinot, the bronze
statue, which had been gilded in 1991, is deposited on the forecourt
from May 27 to November 20, 2008, the time to strengthen the structures,
replace the degraded stones of the bell tower (balconies, cords,
cornices, bay sills), protect the protruding elements under lead covers,
clean the facades, renew the carpentry and locksmiths and arrange new
lighting. In the meantime, the deposited statue, protected under a glass
shelter, is also being restored: replacement of bolts and railings, and
strengthening of the base.
The first major restorations on the
basilica itself concern the north-eastern bell tower, known as the Tower
of Prudence, or the Observatory. This tower which houses an orientation
table for the public, is structured by a metal frame ensuring the
recovery of loads from the slabs to the load-bearing walls. These beams
oxidize slowly until towards the end of the twentieth century, when a
resumption of sealing abruptly confines them, accelerating their
deterioration. On the other hand, the use of the building's spires as
antennas since 1990 had created a sealing defect that had led to
oxidation of the staircase, also metallic. In 2006, access to the tower
is prohibited. The construction site was not launched until 2009, the
time to analyze the causes of the alterations and to plan the necessary
works. A suspended scaffolding is hung on the tower; the original frame
is completely removed and replaced; natural ventilation is created to
avoid the accumulation of moisture. The degraded decorations are
restored and the tourist facilities are better highlighted.
The
next concern concerns the tightness of the slates forming the roof,
which causes from 1913 "a withdrawal on the south side of the irons of
the roof" (Sainte-Marie Perrin). When the first damage is noticed,
monitoring is carried out, but without any particular concern. Angle
brackets were put in place to strengthen the rafters, but the
disjointing would worsen in 1919 and 1931, causing cracks. In 2007, the
observation carried out shows a serious sealing defect which leads to
the presence of water even on the vaults, cracking the latter. The cause
of the damage is twofold: on the one hand, the black slates accumulate a
huge amount of heat, overheating the attic of the building during the
day and thus increasing the expansion of the frame. On the other hand,
the slates are too small and the covering is insufficient to constitute
a waterproof cover. The Trélazé deposits no longer being operational, it
is called on those of Ortigueira, in Galicia, which provide slates
measuring 1.15 × 1.15 meters, now sufficient to prevent infiltration.
The general condition of the statue of the Archangel Saint Michael
was then examined in 2010. The external appearance does not reveal any
particular degradation, but an endoscopy of the statue shows galvanic
corrosion of the central steel mast at the copper and iron contact
point. A phosphate-based insulator is sprayed, then an epoxy paint is
applied to the metal elements to prevent contact.
Finally, the
various infiltrations have damaged or soiled the decorations of the
vaults of the basilica. A general diagnosis was undertaken in 2008,
revealing that the expansions of the metal frame caused the vaults to
work, creating cracks; the mosaics suffered peeling, alterations of the
mortars, etc. The presence of water only worsened everything, dirtying
and blackening the decorations.
To carry out the restoration work
on the decorations, a raised floor is installed sixteen meters high in
the upper church; this structure weighs about one hundred and fifty
tons. Michel Patrizio's team of mosaicists works there throughout the
year 2012. The work begins with a cartographic auscultation of the
entire surface. The interior work is then carried out in two stages. An
emergency consolidation is first carried out, including a sealing of the
cracks by injection of lime grout. The injection is carried out with a
syringe under the mosaic or mortar. Secondly, a complete renovation of
the decorations is undertaken. These were initially hung by iron nails,
which rusted. Areas that are too damaged are completely peeled off and
deposited on a canvas. The reverse side of the mosaic can then be
treated, then the restored decoration is rested. The presence of the
raised floor, completed by mobile scaffolding, makes it possible to
treat in passing the other decorative elements, in particular the
blackened statues, initially painted with bronzine, and gilded with foil
during the restorations.
On this occasion, the enhancement of the
interior of the building by the lighting is completely revised. It had
never been the subject of a design, Pierre Bossan having died before the
industrial application of electricity. A long study was therefore
carried out in 2013, culminating in the installation of only six
chandeliers (two per span). This makes it possible to combine multiple
sources (twenty-nine LED-type sources in each equipment) in a minimum
number of points, to limit the deployed cable length, to avoid any
additional drilling in the vaults, and finally, to optimize maintenance.
These brass chandeliers weigh 490 kilograms and require two hundred and
fifty hours of work each; their lifting system is motorized. Their
appearance has been the subject of a particular study, to make them look
like old chandeliers.
All the work during the period from 2006 to
2013 is estimated at 7.6 million euros, 59% financed by the local
authorities (State, city of Lyon, Rhône Departmental Council and DRAC
Rhône-Alpes), the rest being by donations from the faithful. Of this
sum, 5.2 million euros are allocated to the basilica, the rest to its
environment (Saint-Thomas chapel, statue, surroundings).
The basilica belongs to the perimeter of Old Lyon, listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage site in 1998.
In addition to this status, which is
not specific to it, the basilica is classified as a historical monument
on March 25, 2014. This classification concerns the entire building of
the basilica in totality, but also: the chapel of Saint-Thomas and the
intermediate buildings; the facades and roofs of the old tower of the
astronomical observatory, the house housing the museum as well as its
courtyard and its former chapel in totality; the forecourt and the
esplanade, with their fence and all their masonry elements, the facades
and roofs of the Chaplains' house (except restaurant) ; finally the
Rosary garden in its entirety.
The basilica of Fourvière enjoys a special status among French
religious buildings. During its construction, its singularity is not to
be ecclesial property, but the property of all its donors, through the
Fourvière Commission. Symbolically, the basilica thus belongs to all the
people of Lyon. The highlighting of the role of the laity in the
Catholic Church is thus proposed from the mid-nineteenth century, and a
century before the Second Vatican Council, which will particularly
insist on this point, in particular by the publication of the apostolic
constitution Lumen Gentium. The paradox is that this theological
modernity is proposed by the members of the Fourvière Commission, who
are rather to be located in the current of intransigent Catholicism.
At the turn of the twentieth century, just before the promulgation
of the law of separation of churches and the State, the mayor of Lyon
Victor Augagneur, very anti-clerical, wishes to close Fourvière,
supported by his city council "this citadel of superstition and
religious exploitation".
In 2011, the Federation of free thought
considered that the subsidies granted by the city of Lyon, subsidies
aimed at financing the construction of an elevator facilitating access
to the building for people with reduced mobility, were unjustified. She
indeed judges that the elevator, while not being "as such" the object of
a cult use, is "in connection with" the building of worship. By a
decision of July 19, 2011, the Council of State considered that this
subsidy did not prevent compliance with the principles of equality and
neutrality with regard to cults. The administrative judge based his
decision on the local public interest, the importance of the building
for the cultural influence and the tourist and economic development of
the territory. If the equipment benefits the faithful coming to attend
worship, it is however not dedicated to this population alone and also
serves tourist interests.
The most visible particularity of the basilica of Fourvière is to be
endowed with four corner towers: two on the facade and two to the right
of the beginning of the choir. These towers, forty-eight meters high
(four more than those of the primatial), are slightly flared at their
top. Pierre Bossan's architectural research has been highly commented on
by his contemporaries. The admirers of this architecture have sought its
origin (see paragraph below); as for its contemplators, they mock the
"overturned elephant". On the other hand, their octagonal shape makes
them less resistant to the vibrations generated by the ringing of bells;
finally, the sacristies arranged at the foot of these towers are
notoriously insufficient in view of the enormous needs of such a
pilgrimage center.
The towers are named according to the four
cardinal virtues: on the western facade, the north-west tower represents
Strength, the south-west tower Justice; on the east side which looks at
Lyon, the north tower represents Prudence, and the south tower,
Temperance.
The architectural inspiration that Bossan could have
followed for the design of these towers is still debated today. Paul
Abadie, designer of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre,
declares about them that "these Arab towers are not there in their
place". Architectural critics have traditionally seen in the Fourvière
towers a Sicilian inspiration, drawn from Arab-Norman architecture,
which Bossan discovered during his stay in Palermo and the rest of the
island between 1848 and 1850. In particular, Bossan would have been
inspired by the cathedral of Palermo, that of Cefalù, and, even more,
the palatine chapel of the Norman Palace. This affirmation, launched as
early as 1870, finds an echo, for example, in the writings of André
Hallays, who wrote in 1900, about Fourvière: "It is Palermitan
architecture".
Nevertheless, from the end of the nineteenth
century, this parentage is questioned. Lucien Bégule, for example, who
has visited Sicily twice, sees for his part only a vague resemblance
between the porch of the Lyon building and the side portal of the
Palermo cathedral. For Philippe Dufieux, a specialist in Bossan
architecture, the "Sicilian" character of the Fourvière basilica is
questionable, or at least not unique. But he is surprised that no critic
has made the connection - much more relevant in his opinion - between
Bossan's work and the Annunziata dei Catalani church in Messina,
especially with regard to the apse. Anyway, according to Dufieux, the
first architectural inspiration would be much more orientalist than
Sicilian. He takes as proof the systematic use of the arc in third
point. From his point of view, it would rather be necessary to bring the
Fourvière towers closer, from an architectural point of view, to the
Muslim minarets. ; in particular, he cites as a potential source of
inspiration the Ketchaoua mosque in Algiers, which at that time had been
consecrated as a Catholic building of worship, under the name of
"Saint-Philippe Cathedral".
FM transmitters operated by TDF and
Towercast are installed in two of the crosses at the top of the towers
of the Basilica.
The apse is crowned with a statue of the archangel Michael sculpted
by Paul-Émile Millefaut (1848-1907). The latter estimates the estimate
between twelve and fourteen thousand francs, but works on the plaster
model without any advance. It seems that the different models, made on
several different scales, have all passed to La Ciotat, which shows that
Bossan was strongly involved in the appearance of the statue that would
crown his work. The final statue is made by the Gayet-Gauthier
workshops, which also cast the Statue of Liberty. In the iconography
imagined by Bossan, Michael dominated the other archangels by his role
in the struggle between Good and Evil. Moreover, the figure of the
archangel had acquired political significance during the nineteenth
century, especially in legitimist circles, to the point that Henri
d'Artois would have liked to subscribe to the construction of this
statue. This statue has its exact replica located at the bell tower of
the Saint-Michel church in Saint-Michel-Mont-Mercure. Initially
manufactured for the universal exhibition of 1889, it was bought in 1897
at a price of 4,400 francs (against 34,000 for the original Fourvière)
and installed at the top of the Vendée church.
The representation
of the archangel as a "Marian figure" is not an invention of Pierre
Bossan but a recovery of the mystical visions of María de Ágreda,
Spanish nun of the seventeenth century. She received visions that forged
in her a "maximum mariology" that was not well received in the Catholic
theological canon, but that Bossan approves of. In these visions, Mary
is for example assimilated to the divine "Wisdom" described in chapter 8
of the Book of Proverbs as well as in chapter 24 of the Siracid. Bossan
claims not to have been inspired by anyone for his iconographic
theology, but the presence of the complete works of María de Ágreda
encourages us to believe otherwise. On the other hand, it is quite
possible that the writings of the Spanish nun are not the only sources
of inspiration for the architect, who seems to rely, among other things,
on the Abbot Martigny and his Dictionary of Christian Antiquities;
Nicolas Henri de Grimouard and his Manual of Christian art, etc.
In 2013, repairs carried out on the statue revealed that, at an unknown
date, it had been the target of a shot that pierced his left arm.
The western facade is framed by the two towers of Strength (to the
north, symbolized by the representation of Jacob's struggle with the
angel) and Justice (to the south, and on which it is depicted by the
judgment of Solomon). The ornamentation of the frieze and the foot of
the towers contrasts strongly with the nakedness of the other walls.
This one is only partially researched; the towers should have, according
to the watercolors painted by Frédéric Giniez, been adorned with
chiseled horizontal bracelets, at a regular distance. The high church is
preceded by a porch about ten meters deep, surmounted by the frieze
under which a narrow corridor is arranged.
The supports of the
pediment are carved in caryatid angels by Millefaut between 1892 and
1894. To avoid deformation of the figures of the pediment because of the
perspective, it was raised, which consequently led to an increase; the
very significant weight of the upper part prompted the carrying out of
crushing tests, which proved beneficial. A change of material was
recommended accordingly and recommendation was made to Millefaut to
proceed only with the minimum of material removal. The frieze itself
represents the wish of the Aldermen of 1643, and the notables of Lyon
kneeling in front of the Virgin and Child who occupies the center of the
composition, surmounted by three angels.
The main characteristic of the basilica is to have two superimposed
churches, the lower one being improperly called "crypt" (which it is
not, being illuminated by canopies). The two churches are accessible by
the forecourt, one by going down, the other by going up; they are also
connected by a monumental double-flight staircase, opening on the south
side of the naves, and occupying entirely the second upper and lower
spans. The middle level, corresponding to the landing of the staircase,
is on one level with the forecourt and the old chapel.
In
Bossan's mind, the entire Fourvière building is symbolic. Thus, the
lower church, whose usefulness many of his friends did not see, was to
be for the architect the building dedicated to Joseph, the adoptive
father of Jesus Christ. He sees in this dichotomy of buildings a
necessary path for the pilgrim, who passes from relative darkness and a
fairly low church, to the light and the large spaces of the upper
church. In this catechetical journey, Joseph represents at the same time
the hidden face of the Holy Family, the physical support of his wife and
Jesus child, but also tradition and the Old Testament.
In the
visitor's journey, the Lions' Gate is the natural entrance desired by
Pierre Bossan. The lions that should have supported the columns,
inspired by those of the Notre-Dame d'Embrun cathedral, were not made,
but their drawing can be found in the notes of the two architects. Other
unfinished projects were planned for the vestibule: circular porch
housing a statue of the Virgin; double door of Nazareth (for men) and
Bethlehem (for women) opening onto the lower church; Pharaoh's door
repeating the story of the Joseph of Genesis.
The iconography of
the entire lower church expresses this idea of Joseph's discreet
participation in the life of Mary and Jesus. Thus, a large statue of
Joseph as the bearer of the Child is sculpted, despite the opposition of
Joannès Blanchon. The planned altars (not realized) were supposed to
trace the history of the Holy Family: marriage, adoration of the
shepherds, purification of the Virgin, flight to Egypt, the life of the
family in Nazareth, the first words of Jesus in the Temple. The
inscriptions carried on the vaults of the dome show the qualifiers given
by the Church to Joseph: Filius David, vir justus, custos Domini,
columen Mundi, Virginis sponsus, minister Salutis, certa spes vitae.
These inscriptions overlook the eight Beatitudes, represented by
eight angels carved in a round-shaped pattern, suggesting that Joseph
exercised the corresponding virtues. Under the altar of the apse, is
sculpted by Millefaut a death of Joseph, in which the husband of Mary is
represented in the guise of Pierre Bossan young, and where his adopted
son Jesus cries, very rare representation. Ironically, it is in this
same low church and in front of this statue that the funeral service of
the architect of Fourvière takes place, by a special authorization from
the archbishop.
As a whole, the crypt is an unfinished monument.
Despite a skilful composition, the play of colors between the light
sparingly given by the stained-glass windows, the mosaics where blue and
gold dominate, the Latin epigraphy revealing a good biblical knowledge,
a rich statuary on which thirty-four artists worked simultaneously, the
vestibule and the apse are unfinished, especially the latter, whose
structural work was perfectly realized, but almost immediately left
almost in its raw state, the builders being in a hurry to move to the
main church.
The mosaics date from the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. They relate the story of the Virgin Mary, on the right in the history of France, on the left in the history of the Church.
The most controversial iconographic element of the basilica is the
set of mosaics called "heresies", surrounding the main altar of the
upper church. There are eleven of them, symbolizing for nine of them
historical "heretical" currents: arianism, Macedonianism, Nestorianism,
monophysism, iconoclasm, lutheranism, manichaeism, Jansenism and
naturalism). The last two, the hydra and the serpent, represent all the
heresies. The choice that has been made, bringing together various
currents that occurred in the Church between 325 and 1870, is partial
and voluntary. On the other hand, the iconography is exclusively drawn
from a work republished in 1855 by the Benedictine
Jean-Baptiste-François Pitra, attributed to Meliton of Sardis, but more
probably medieval.
In 2005, during the interreligious meeting
organized in Lyon by the Community of Sant'Egidio, a common gesture is
made by the various Christian Churches present in Fourvière. Cardinal
Philippe Barbarin deplores on this occasion the classification of the
basilica, which prevents the removal of some of the mosaics, but
publicly asks for forgiveness from the Protestant representatives
present for representing Luther among the heresies ; a marble plaque
bearing a declaration co-drafted and expressing the desire of the
churches to "overcome their painful history" is inaugurated in return.
The Great organ of the basilica was restored in 1996 by the Jean
Renaud organ factory in Nantes. He restores the instrument in depth
under the direction of his workshop manager and harmonist Michel Jurine.
The sound palette is modified by the contribution of eleven new stops :
on the Positive side: III-IV progressive full-Stop, 4' Main, 2' Double,
Nazard, Third
at the Great Organ: progressive supply of IV-V
to
the Story: Carillon II-III
on the Pedal: Principal 8', Flute 4',
Trumpet 8', Bugle 4'
The harmonization of the 47 stops is carried out
by Michel Jurine on the basis of stronger pressures and with a very
marked upward character.
This site is served by the Fourvière funicular. The tunnel, pierced
in 1900, passes at an angle under the forecourt of the basilica avoiding
the foundations of the south-west tower, at a minimum distance of about
three meters67. The entrance to the station is located right in front of
the main porch.
The basilica is visited annually by more than two
million tourists, which makes it the leading tourist site in the
Rhône-Alpes region.