In 1875, Sacré Coeur was built as a symbol of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the people in Paris (Jonas 484). As the heart of Paris, this cathedral has directed the paradigm shift, of the people and the government, back towards Jesus’ heart. One can see this in the contrast of the bloodshed and hatred in the French Revolution and the loving and gracious nature of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This significance of Sacré Coeur is not only found in the cultural transformation, but also divine purpose for Paris. Jonas discusses how Sacré Coeur functions as a symbolic density of the people of Paris. Jonas expressed how God had chosen Paris to partner with Him, to bear witness of Christ to the rest of the world (Jonas 351). This destiny is much like the reality of the Kingdom of God, which is the now and the yet to come. The past, present, and future people of Paris are invited to bear the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As the cathedral was the separation from the sacred and the profane, Paris was to follow suit. The heart of Jesus has to be central to the heart of the people, and the cathedral, Sacré Coeur, is the continual reminder, for those in France.
Text Source:
Jonas, Raymond A. “Monument as Ex-Voto, Monument as Historiosophy: The Basilica of Sacré-Coeur.” French Historical Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, 1993, pp. 482–502. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/286877?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents. Accessed 11 Nov. 2020.
onas, Raymond. “Sacred Mysteries and Holy Memories: Counter-Revolutionary France and the Sacre-Coeur.” Canadian Journal of History, vol. 32, no. 3, Dec. 1997, p. 347. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/cjh.32.3.347. Accessed 11 Nov 2020.