Whispers of hermits echo through time at \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin. This Roman Catholic church stands in Paris’s lively Latin Quarter. Its story stretches back to the 6th century.
Saint S\u00e9verin lived here as a hermit. He died around 540. A chapel was erected after his death on the site of his cell. It was believed to be near the oratory of Saint Martin. The Normans destroyed this chapel in the 9th century. It was rebuilt in the Romanesque style in the 11th century.
By the late 12th century, the theology school at Notre Dame grew. Students and teachers moved to the Left Bank. The University of Paris was founded in 1215. \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin became its parish church.
Around 1230, a new church construction began in the High Gothic style. This \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin was contemporary with Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle. In the early 14th century, an additional aisle was built on the south side.
A fire damaged \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin during the Hundred Years War in 1448. Archpriest Guillaume d’Estouteville began rebuilding it. He used the Flamboyant Gothic style. A new aisle was added on the north side. In 1489, a semi-circular apse and ambulatory appeared at the eastern end. Flamboyant columns, arches, and vaults surrounded a spiral central pillar. Radiating chapels were added around the apse. New chapels were built along the outer aisles between the buttresses.
As \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin grew, the neighborhood pressed close. The 13th-century bell tower was originally separate. Now, the expanded church surrounded it. The ancient Charnier or Charnel House was also enclosed. The old cemetery is now a garden.
After 1520, \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin had its present-day appearance. In 1643, a second sacristy was added. Royal architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart built the Communion chapel in 1673. It sits on the church’s southeast corner. In 1684, decorator Charles le Brun modified the choir’s design. He removed the rood screen and added marble facing to the apse columns.
During the French Revolution, the church was closed. It became a storehouse for gunpowder. Later, it held grain and church bells. Bells were often melted to make cannons. The Catholic Church regained \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin in 1803. Like other Paris churches, the French State owns the building. The Catholic Church has exclusive use.
In the 20th century, Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand and Danielle Gouze married here. The wedding took place on October 28, 1944, after Paris’s liberation.
The bell tower’s lower portions are from the original 13th-century church. The tower was completed in 1487. It was initially separate from the church.
The west portal’s lower portion came from Saint-Pierre-aux-B\u0153ufs. That church was near Notre-Dame. It was demolished in the 1830s. This opened space around the Cathedral.
The bells include the oldest one remaining in Paris. It was cast in 1412. On the south side is the former charnel house. Built in the 15th century, it is the only one still existing in Paris. It was an above-ground mausoleum. Tombs filled the chapels and surrounded a small cemetery. That cemetery is now a garden.
The nave has two different eras and styles. The first three traverses are in the High Gothic style. They feature cylindrical pillars with floral decoration. The upper walls have stained glass windows. They illustrate the Apostles’ lives.
The columns closer to the apse are in the Flamboyant style. They are more slender and form pointed arches. The choir was constructed in the 15th century. It has a half-circle form with pointed arches. Flamboyant rib vaults cover it. Jean-Baptiste Tuby added classical decoration in the late 17th century.
The apse has a double disambulatory. The twisting central pillar and surrounding pillars resemble stone palm trees. Branches reach upward into the flamboyant vaults. The central pillar is illuminated. It is visible from all parts of \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin.
Jean Ren\u00e9 Bazaine made eight modern stained glass windows between 1964 and 1970. They decorate the disambulatory and are inspired by the seven sacraments. The artist designed the abstract windows to make the non-visible appear.
The principal organ was built by Alfred Kern. The carved wooden case dates to 1745. The case has been a French historic monument since 1905.
So ends the story of \u00c9glise Saint-S\u00e9verin. A place of hermits, students, and enduring beauty.