Some Catholic (and other) highlights in Paris

Paris 107

The Basilique du Sacré Coeur should be on the must-see list for any Catholic tourist in Paris: it is certainly on mine. Sacré Coeur was built after the National Vow of reparation for the atrocities committed on both sides during the Communard uprising, and for the spiritual welfare of France. The most moving thing for me is the basilica's record of uninterrupted eucharistic adoration day and night since 1 August 1885. (See this link to a previous post with more photos.)

The discreet monitions by lay wardens regarding silence and proper deportment ensure that even though it is crowded visitors, Sacré Coeur is an ideal place to catch up on the Office - something that is easy to leave to late in the day when one is on holiday.

Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, opposite the Louvre, is of interest to British visitors because of the mission St Germanus of Auxerre (not to be confused with St Germanus of Paris) undertook to counter the heresy of Pelagianism.

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And here is a photo of the Deacon and Martyr St Vincent with what looks like his maniple:

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Since it is white rather than red and matches the quill that he holds, I wonder whether it is in fact not a maniple but something else. No doubt I will find out thanks to the crowd-sourced information times we live in.

UPDATE:
Indeed the social media help us. Concerning St Vincent's maniple, Louis Tofari has kindly sent me a link to his article The Vesture of the Ministers: Part IV and suggested that the statue of St Vincent shows a linen maniple, and thus the actual purificator.

Not far from where we were staying, I found a gem: the Church of St Julien le Pauvre.

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I took a detour to look at it because of the claim on posters for concerts being held there, that it was the oldest Church in Paris. Inside I was met with this view:

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The Church was given to the Melkite community of Paris in 1889.

Continuing with the must-see venues, I took the Metro round to renew my acquaintance with the Rue du Bac and Saint Sulpice as well as the SSPX Church of Saint Nicholas du Chardonnet. Despite the London-style disruption of engineering works, I managed by dint of changing lines several times, to get to see the Ecole Militaire, the Champ de Mars, and therefore the Eiffel Tower, of which I took a nice photo along with the Japanese fellow-tourists:

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Then it was up to the Place de La Concorde where I found another surprise which will be of special interest to US readers: a plaque put up by the American Club of Parish in 1997 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan,

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Finally, a photo of somewhere that we didn't go for dinner:

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