Paris- Churches

Paris has a lot of churches, and I went to a lot of them. :)


Notre Dame behind some pretty leaves. This was one of the first things I saw in Paris. Pretty breathtaking.


Ross had a very good way of describing many gothic churches like Notre Dame- a "minor key" church. Very eerie. I loved the outside, so detailed and intricate, but the inside was so dark. We accidentally went to mass on Sunday there, which was cool.


I thought this was a good picture to show the intricacy of the carvings. This is an archway above one of the doors.


And here you can see you multiply that intricate carving several times over! See the 28 kings up there? They're the "Kings of Judah". The Revolutionaries thought they were kings of France, so they blew all their faces off. Bad revolutionaries! Note to all- if you're conducting some kind of revolution, please do not destroy all the art of that country's history.


Notre Dame is very big. Look how little my head looks next to it!


Everyone loves a flying buttress!


My favorite church- St Etienne du Mont, in honor of St. Genevieve. So full of light and beautiful. This bridge-like structure is called a "rood screen", and symbolizes our need for an intercessor in prayer (hence Jesus in the middle).

This church really took my breath way. I felt overwhelmed by the symbolism and beauty of the place and the story of St. Genevieve and had the chance to spend some special time in prayer here.


This is St. Genevieve. She is the patron saint of Paris, because once when the city was under attack, she gathered a large group of women to pray, and the city was spared. Never underestimate the power of prayer!


St. Denis, the oldest church in Paris and the resting place of many French monarchs (pictures in a later post).


Sacre Coeur, in Montmarte.


And what's a picture of a gorgeous church without our smiling mugs in front of it? :) What a cool place. In a very bohemian part of Paris (think Moulin Rouge), this church is on top of a large hill. We sat for hours talking and looking out over the city lights.


In St. Germain. The Catholics love their candles. :) I love how this picture turned out.

There you have another installment of the Paris extravaganza! Only a few more to go. :)