The diocese of Chartres and the rectorate of the cathedral had invited more than 70 business leaders from Eure-et-Loir, Thursday June 20, to the Hôtellerie Saint-Yves, to present to them the millennium project of the crypt and launch a campaign calling for patronage.
It is a jewel that the Church wants to take care of. The crypt of Chartres Cathedral will benefit from enhancement work as part of the millennium festivities, which will be launched on September 8, 2024.
The diocese of Chartres and the cathedral rectorate estimate the total cost of embellishing this main vestige of the Romanesque cathedral, erected in 1024 by Saint Fulbert, then bishop of Chartres, at €460,500.
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In front of an audience of business leaders gathered on Thursday June 20 at the Hôtellerie Saint-Yves, Sophie Lainé, responsible for operations and projects at the cathedral rectorate, explains:
The cathedral belongs to the State and the clergy are its beneficiaries. It’s a place that we decided to pamper. We hope that the beautification of the crypt will last over time. This project goes beyond the Church and takes part in the development of the territory.
The diocese of Chartres entrusted the painter and sculptor Augustin Frison-Roche with the task of creating liturgical furniture for the Notre-Dame Sous-Terre chapel, including a tabernacle, a reliquary and a cross, which will adorn the altar. A budget of €42,000 is planned for this operation, which includes a redevelopment of the space.
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The Church also wanted to create a half-moon stained glass window in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. The project by artist Fleur Nabert was selected, after the launch of a competition with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of Centre-Val de Loire. The cost of this project is estimated at €25,000.
The artist confides:
“It is a great emotion for me to create this stained glass window in this thousand-year-old place. The challenge is to succeed in catching the light, which comes as if through a vent in the crypt. I work with Bruno Loire, who uses the thermoforming technique to allow the glass to flow into the trace I have carved.”
Fleur Nabert (sculptor artist)
The Bishop of Chartres, Mgr Philippe Christory, believes that “this place belongs to everyone” and recalls that 200 volunteers joined several working commissions to carry out this millennium project.
“We can’t do it without funding. We need support,” says Edouard de Riedmatten, millennium coordinator of the crypt. The call is made.
Helene Bonnet
