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The history of Notre Dame de France:
From 1865 to 1903
, From 1903 to 1955 ,
From 1955 to the present time
, The Story of the Marist Fathers
THE EARLY YEARS ( from 1865 to 1903)
It was towards the midst of the XIXth. century that Cardinal
Wiseman, the then Archbishop of Westminster, became very concerned with the
plight of the many ethnic minorities, mainly Europen, in London. He decided
to create national parishes who would take charge of the spiritual needs of
the catholics amongst the polish, italian or german immigrants and workers.
He also conceived the idea of a mission amongst the neglected ‘lower-class'
French of London.
For this purpose, the cardinal called on the ‘Marists', whose work in
Spitafields and elsewhere he had come to appreciate.They promptly answered
his call. Thus Father Charles Faure was designated by the Superior-General
of the order to start working on the proposed task.
He was to give himself wholly and with much fervour to this work, despite
the half-heartedness and even hostility that he met from the well-off and
already well-established French of London. He went to beg for the necessary
funds, as well as for prayers, in France, not only in religious circles but
from anyone from any social background who showed interest in the project,
whether it was from Empress Eugénie, who made a gift of 50 000 Francs, or
from the anonymous worker who gave 3 francs, which was equivalent to his
whole day's work.
With the money thus collected, he went looking for a piece of land, in
Leicester Square known then as the ‘ most ill-famed ‘ French district. His
choice went to the ‘Panorama' of Burford, which was the forerunner of the
cinema in the shape of a rotunda, which accounts for the circular shape of
the present church.
The construction of the church was entrusted to the architect Louis Auguste
Boileau who was at the time one of the french promoters of ‘ iron
architecture'. This first church, all in iron, became one of the
architectural conversation-pieces of London. Apart from the church, the
mission also consisted of a little hospital, an orphanage and a school run
by the sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul.
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FROM 1903 TO 1955 :
DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION...
Throughout the years following its foundation, Notre
Dame de France never lost sight of its mission, and never more so than
throughout the second world war, during the occupation of France by the
Germans. London became the rallying point of thousands of French soldiers,
sailors and civilians who wanted to carry on the fight alongside their
allies.
Sadly the church was partly destroyed, in November 1940, during the “ Battle
of Britain”.
However thanks to the dedication of the `Marist Fathers', the spiritual
needs of the French community in London were still met.
In September 1948, the newly-appointed Superior of Notre Dame de France,
Father Deguerry, decided on the reconstruction of the church. He received
the backing of the French ambassador, René Massigli, who obtained, as a
special favour, an exceptional permit for reconstruction from Anthony Eden.
Notre Dame de France could also count on the help and well-informed advice
of the learned French academic, Mr. René Varin, a high-ranking civil servant
in the ‘Education Nationale', who was fulfilling the duties of cultural
attaché at the French embassy in London.
The first stone of the new construction was laid by Maurice Schumann on 31st
May 1953 and the official inauguration took place on 6th October 1955,
presided over by Cardinal Feltin, archbishop of Paris.
The architects, sculptors, painters and other artists who contributed to the
building of the church and its decoration are the subject of other pages of
our web-site.
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FROM 1955 TO THE PRESENT TIME
As the years went by, new situations and needs arose, particularly in the
aftermath of war. As ever, Notre Dame de France responded to these new needs
by broadening its activities. Thus the Fifties saw the birth of the ‘Centre
Notre Dame de Walsingham' which organised monthly study groups,
recollections for young students coming to study in England and pilgrimages
from King's Lynn, through the Norfolk countryside, to the Slipper's Chapel
and Our Lady of Walsingham's shrine in Walsingham.
The sixties saw the creation of the ‘Centre Charles Péguy' on a site in
Greek street, from where it moved to what is now known as ‘Maison Pierre
Chanel', at 16, Leicester Square. Besides catering for the needs of the
numerous ‘au-pair girls' living in London and elsewhere, it organised
meetings and conferences around well-known visiting personalities such as
Henri de Lubac O.P., Maurice Zundel, Jacques Rivière of the newspaper
' Le Monde ', André Cruziat, a specialist in Third-World economies and
working at ‘Croissance des Jeunes Nations'...
It was about that time that large numbers of Commonwealth francophones, the
Mauritians, came to London. They usually met at Notre Dame de France. The
‘Association Chrétienne des Mauriciens' was created to help them to settle
in England.
When the Marists left Notre Dame de France in the eighties, the running of
the parish was entrusted to the Chaplaincy for French expatriates. This
period saw the curtailment or even the disappearance of most activities at
Notre Dame, due to the shortage of priests ( during that time and until
1992, there was only one priest, helped by a dominican priest then living in
London ). The main concern of the chaplain was the running of the chaplaincy
at the ‘Lycée Charles de Gaulle' at the expense of all other activities.
When the Marists returned in 1992, they were warmly received by the
Francophone community. Their arrival saw a renewal of the parish life.
Always alert to any new pastoral needs of their flock, the Marist fathers
created the Notre Dame Refugee Centre, as well as a support service to the
homeless, a listening room inside the church, a Taizé group and a variety of
groups responding mainly to the many needs of the African francophones of
London
We hope that our newly-created web-site will
help everybody to understand, join or follow and support from a distance all
these activities.
May God bless Notre Dame de France, now and forever !
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THE STORY OF THE MARIST FATHERS
To know more about the Marist Fathers or the Marist family
go to :
www.maristinternational.org
www.maristes-france.org
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