Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Notre-Dame-de-Consolation chapel was built between 1898 and 1900 on the site of the Bazar de la Charité, destroyed by a fire on 4 May 1897, which caused more than 120 deaths. Inaugurated exactly three years after the tragedy, it was conceived as an expiatory chapel by architect Albert Guilbert, rewarded with a gold medal at the 1900 Universal Exhibition for this project. Its portal, adorned with allegorical statues (Charity and Faith), bears the inscription "May 4, 1897" and a quotation from Saint Paul evoking hope.

Inside, the nave and crypt, which can accommodate up to 300 people, are encircled with cenotaphs in memory of the victims. The decor includes sculptures by Louis-Auguste Hiolin, stained glass windows by Henri Carot (such as the Assumption of Mary), and a dome painted by Albert Maignan, representing the Holy Spirit. A cross path lined with mortuary sculptures surrounds the building, reinforcing its commemorative character. The chapel, classified as a historic monument in 1982, was successively managed by the Sisters of the Purgatory (1900–53), then by the Italian Catholic Mission (1953–2012).

Since 2013, she has been entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pie X by the Memorial Association of the Bazar de la Charité, its owner. The monument illustrates both the religious architecture of the Belle Époque and the collective memory of a major Parisian drama. Its cloister and interior decoration, protected by the classification, bear witness to the funerary and symbolic art of the time.

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