Joan d’Arc, doing her thing.
Last Friday I visited the Pantheon with Cosette and Chloe, which was free and VERY much worth the trip. I was one of the things I was most looking forward to on this trip, so when I learned we weren’t going for class I immediately looked into tickets. And when I got there, I loved it! From the beautiful, stunning façade and dome to the absolutely massive main chamber, I adored everything about this building.
Charlemagne, looking grand as ever.
In an earlier blog post (7/6: G for Jesus), I talked about the weird relationship between religion and secularism in France, and I used the Pantheon as an example of a secular monument. It is—after all—still used as the final burial place of those who are determined to have served France in tremendous capacities. But after being there, I realize I made a mistake in that blog post. Far from a purely secular structure, the Pantheon is actually the perfect example of the mishmash of Catholicism and secularism that is so prevalent across Paris. It was actually originally built as a Church honoring Saint Genevieve. The story goes that the building was built under Saint Louis IX, who made good on his promise to replace the run down abbey of a group of monks living at the sight. Today the building reflects its history, as the wall paintings in the main chamber tell the stories of lives and deeds of important Christian figures in French history. Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, gets the most space dedicated to her, but she is joined by Charlemagne, Louis IX, Saint Joan d’Arc, and Saint Denis. Everywhere you turn, the building hearkens back to its Christian history.
Statue of Voltaire at his tomb.
La Convention Nationale, a statue honoring the Revolution.
But it also celebrates non-religious achievement. The same main chamber houses statues and murals celebrating poets, philosophers, soldiers, scientists, the French Revolution, as well as Foucault’s Pendulum and modern art exhibitions. Not to mention the crypts, housing the bodies of heroic and prolific French citizens. Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis Braille, Marie Curie, and Josephine Baker—to name a few—are interned in the Pantheon. So there is no doubt that the temple is as much a humanist monument as it is a religious one (if not more so).
Saint Genevieve, saving some Paris.
Is it, then, a clash between religious and secular figures from French history? Or is it a harmonious space bringing together all kinds of great people—saints and scientists, leaders and philosophers, writers and soldiers—putting aside their differences to honor their memories and their legacies? I’m feel like the latter makes more sense. I think the fact that the “Temple to the Nation” (as the revolutionaries named it) is proudly placed in a Catholic basilica says more than I ever can about the French’s weird, messy, and somewhat contradictory attitudes towards religion and secularism.