Place of worship · 1892
Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois
Address · 2, place du Louvre, 75001 Paris
Metro · Louvre – Rivoli (1) / Pont Neuf (7)
Today · Still open. Parish church open to the public.
The story
Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, opposite the Louvre colonnade, was long the parish church of the kings living in the palace. Its Flamboyant Gothic porch and its bell tower are associated in collective memory with the signal for the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572. In the 19th century the church was restored and remained a prestigious parish at the heart of the Right Bank. It faced the Louvre, then still shared between museum and government offices, and remained an aristocratic parish.
Péladan wanted his Salon to be a Catholic undertaking as much as an aesthetic one. He therefore arranged for a Mass of the Holy Spirit to precede the opening on 10 March 1892. According to the program quoted by Churton, passages from Parsifal were heard, including the prelude and the Good Friday Spell, after three fanfares of the Order composed by Satie. The ceremony gave the Salon a liturgical flavor and helped make it a sensation in the press. Satie was then the order's official composer.
The church is still open for worship and visits. Nothing there recalls the Rose+Croix, but the place lets you imagine the procession of carriages that then headed north to rue Le Peletier, a kilometer away. It is also a convenient starting point for a walk toward the Opéra. Allow about fifteen minutes on foot to follow the same route as the guests, via rue du Louvre or rue de Richelieu.