Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet

Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet is a Catholic church in the centre of Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement. It was constructed between 1656 and 1763. The facade was designed in the classical style by Charles Le Brun. It contains many notable art works from the 19th century, including a rare religious painting by Jean-Baptiste Corot.

Since the expulsion of the parish priest and his assistants by traditionalist Catholics in 1977, the church has been run by the Society of St. Pius X, which celebrates Traditional Latin Masses there.

Establishment
A chapel was first built in 1230, in a field planted with chardons (thistles), hence the name. It originally was a dependence of the Abbey of Saint Victor. As the population of the neighbourhood grew, a series of larger churches were built. In 1656, the construction of the present church began, under architects Michel Noblet and François Levé. Due to a shortage of funds, the church was not finished until 1763. Only the bell tower, built sometime before 1600, remains from the earlier church.

In the late 17th century, noted harpsichordist Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy (1633–1694) served as titular organist of the church.

The church was closed and badly damaged during the French Revolution, and most of the art was destroyed. It was gradually replaced with new work by French artists in the 19th century.

Since 1905, the city of Paris, following the enactment of the law on separation of Church and State, claims ownership of the church but grants the Roman Catholic Church a free usage right.

1977 occupation and rededication
On 27 February 1977, traditionalist priest Monsignor François Ducaud-Bourget, who opposed the post-Vatican II Mass, organised a meeting of his followers at the nearby Maison de la Mutualité. He led the attendees to Saint-Nicolas church, where a service was just concluding. Ducaud-Bourget entered in procession, went to the altar and said Mass in Latin. The parish priest was ejected. The occupation was intended to be just for the length of the Mass, but then it continued indefinitely. The parish priest went to court and obtained an order for the expulsion of the occupiers, but the application order was delayed pending mediation, with writer Jean Guitton appointed as mediator. After three months of mediation between the occupants and the Archbishop of Paris, François Marty, Guitton admitted his failure to resolve the issue; the police made no attempt to enforce the expulsion order. The occupiers aligned themselves with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), and received help from its leader, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

In 1978, the Court of Cassation confirmed that the occupation was illegal but the order of eviction was never implemented. On 20 February 1987, the Conseil d'État ruled that the disturbance to public order resulting from an expulsion would be higher than that resulting from the illegal occupation.

Ducaud-Bourget died in 1984, and was replaced by Philippe Laguérie. In 1993, the SSPX members, led by Laguérie, unsuccessfully attempted to occupy another church in Paris, St-Germain l'Auxerrois.

In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the congregation of Saint-Nicolas defied the social distancing regulations then in force by holding an Easter Vigil. A live stream on YouTube showed the priest and deacons in close contact, without wearing masks, and Holy Communion was given with bare hands. About 40 people were in attendance. The priest was warned and booked, and given a €135 fine.

Interior
The interior of the church is a good example of the Baroque style, lavishly decorated with paintings, medallions and sculpture, dedicated to visually expressing the glory of God. The nave is lined with rows of cruciform pillars, and pilasters with capitals decorated with acanthus leaves in the classical style The arcades that separate the outer aisles from the nave have rounded arches, also in the classical Roman style.

The arrangement of the interior was modified to suit pre-Vatican II liturgical arrangements after 1977 when the church was occupied by the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X. In the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass, the priest always celebrates Mass facing east, rather than the congregation, and thus the freestanding "Novus Ordo" altar was removed.

Chapels of Lower Right Aisle - Le Brun and Corot
The chapel in the first traverse displays an early work by Charles Le Brun, called "The Martyrdom of Saint John the Evangelist at the Latin Gate." Le Brun was a student of Simon Vouet, who later became the court painter of Louis XIV. It depicts Saint John, who has been sentenced by the Emperor Diocletian to be thrown into a vat of boiling oil, from which his body emerges unscathed. The painting displays his early skill depicting the human form and the sense of movement.

The Chapel of the Baptismal Fonts displays a rare religious painting by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, "The Baptism of Christ". The Baptism itself occupies only the lower third of the painting, and follows the classical style of Nicolas Poussin. The upper two-thirds are occupied by an angel flying above a majestic tree and landscape, the subjects for which Corot became famous. Eugène Delacroix saw the painting in Corot's studio, and described it in his journal as "His grand baptism of Christ, full of naive beauties."

Services
The priests of the SSPX at Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet livestream every Mass offered at the church on YouTube, along with Vespers, clergy-led Rosaries, and catechism lessons.

Bibliography (in French)

 * Dumoulin, Aline; Ardisson, Alexandra; Maingard, Jérôme; Antonello, Murielle; Églises de Paris (2010), Éditions Massin, Issy-Les-Moulineaux, ISBN 978-2-7072-0683-1
 * Hillairet, Jacques; Connaissance du Vieux Paris; (2017); Éditions Payot-Rivages, Paris; (in French). ISBN 978-2-2289-1911-1