The statues of Saint Joan of Arc and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux were constructed in 2013 and 1934, respectively, by different sculptors. Each of these statues marks a significant moment in Christian history.
Saint Joan of Arc (c. 1412–1431)
Joan of Arc, born around 1412 in Domrémy, is a key figure in the Hundred Years’ War between France and England. At the age of 13, she claimed to receive visions from saints (Saint Catherine, Saint Michael, and Saint Margaret) who instructed her to liberate France and have the Dauphin Charles crowned in Reims.
In 1429, she led the French troops to victory during the siege of Orléans and saw Charles VII crowned in Reims Cathedral. Captured in 1430 by the Burgundians, she was sold to the English and tried for heresy. Burned at the stake in 1431 in Rouen, she was posthumously rehabilitated in 1456 during a new trial held at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
She was canonized in 1920. Saint Joan of Arc is one of the patron saints of France.
This sculpture, created around 1920 by Charles Desvergnes, was made following the canonization of the woman known as the “Pucelle”.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897)
Orphaned and entered the Carmel of Lisieux at fifteen, she died of tuberculosis at twenty-four. She practiced her faith through small daily actions. The Church recognized her devotion and humility. The posthumous publication of “Story of a Soul” achieved great success. Pope Pius XI canonized her in 1925 under the name Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. The town became the second-largest pilgrimage site in France. She is also known as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Pope John Paul II named her a Doctor of the Church in 1997.
Cardinal Jean Verdier, Archbishop of Paris from 1929 to 1940, commissioned this statue. Louis Castex (1868-1954) sculpted it in 1934. His representation of the saint is life-sized, standing, without any sense of grandeur, holding a cross and bouquets of roses close to her chest. It illustrates the Catholic mysticism developed by Louis Castex in his work. The artist worked with classical, pure forms where the concentrated and internalized face of the saint draws all attention. Castex also employed a style contrary to the Art Nouveau trend, which was very popular at the time.
