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The Bloody Mary of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris

by Pastor Ken Lawson

The cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Paris, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, is one of the most visited and recognized church buildings in the world. Located on an island in downtown Paris, this cathedral was begun in 1163 for the purpose of establishing a central location in what is now the modern country of France, by which prayer and devotion to Mary could be centralized. The massive gothic pointed arches, vaulted ceilings, gigantic stained glass windows, and thirty seven images dedicated to the virgin Mary, all make this cathedral a worldwide pilgrimage site for those who worship the Roman Catholic representation of the mother of Jesus. The purpose of this article is to expose the historic and contemporary worship of Mary dedicated at this building, and to examine how historic Protestants were murdered for their refusal to bow to the images of Mary represented in this cathedral.

In the early twelfth century, Roman Catholic Bishop Maurice de Sully desired to construct a gigantic shrine to the Virgin Mary, to provide a suitable establishment at which the random devotion to Mary could be encouraged and organized. The cathedral was not constructed in the shape of a Latin cross, but in a cavernous horseshoe type design, supported by gigantic pillars and flying buttresses. Historically, this cathedral is the location, under the second bishop, Eudes de Sully, by which the elevation of the body and blood of Christ as sacrificed in the mass was for the first time elevated in full view of the congregation. In the 1540s, the Roman Catholic Council of Trent established this practice as the norm for all Catholic churches worldwide. All the major initial construction on the building was completed by 1220, and survives today as an unspoiled example of medieval worship of Mary in Roman Catholicism.

My visit to the cathedral was on a Monday morning, in which I was one of thousands that day who paraded through the dimly lit building. The crowd of tourists and pilgrims created elbow-to-elbow pedestrian traffic in and around the cathedral. Walking upon the cobblestone plaza before the cathedral, a visitor is simply overwhelmed by the immensity of this structure. Upon closer inspection, there is clearly seen the details of elaborate and intricate stone carvings which cover the arches upon the three main doorways from the plaza. The left entryway is called "The Portal of the Virgin," the center entryway is called "The Portal of the Last Judgment," and the right doorway is labeled "The Portal of Saint Anne." In The Portal of the Virgin, Mary is seated on the throne of heaven with Christ as a co-regent, being crowned as Queen of Heaven by her son. Angels surround her in worship. In The Portal of the last Judgment, Mary is on the right hand of Christ acting as a mediator for sinners. In The Portal of Saint Anne, the medieval tradition of the mother of Mary being named Anne is depicted by her holding the infant Mary on a heavenly throne, surrounded by adoring angels and prophets. In these detailed and realistic carvings, medieval traditions and superstitions about Mary are mingled with Biblical history to present to the uninformed public a Mary that is not only foreign to the Bible but in contradiction and opposition to the simple Mary of Bethlehem as revealed in the New Testament.

Inside the building is one of the largest organs in the world, as well as some of the worlds best preserved stain glass windows. On the north side is a gigantic stained glass window in a circular shape, with a height of about seventy feet. In a circular fashion, Old Testament kings and prophets are graphically designed as focused on one central stained glass image, that of the virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. The symbolism of this artistic representation is that all the Old Testament prophesies point through Mary to Christ. Mary is given honor, praise, and worshiped as the Mother of God, ignoring her humble Biblical role as a moral Jewish woman selected by God to give birth to the Messiah. This undue adoration of Mary is easily seen in the right wing (south) of the transept, where flowers perpetually honor Mary. This life size marble statue portrays Mary as an elegantly robed queen, crowned, with a ruling scepter in one hand, and baby Jesus in her other hand. Of the thirty seven images of Mary in this building, this is the most popular image of Mary. The crowds of people I saw worshiping this statue and the numbers of candles lit before the idol's feet symbolic of prayers to Mary was innumerable.

Much of the modern artwork in the cathedral dates to the reign of King Louis XIII, who reigned from 1610-1643. He was the son of King Henry IV, who was a firm persecutor of Protestants in France. King Louis XIII, who was childless, vowed to consecrate his kingdom to the Virgin Mary if a male descendent was born to him. A son who was to become Louis XIV was born in 1638. Since that time, every year in August there is a procession around the cathedral to commemorate Louis XIII's vow of consecration to Mary. Artwork begun under Louis XIII but not completed until later is the forty six wooden hand carved choir stalls which wrap around the rear of the altar area. The skill in producing these elaborate and intricate carvings is remarkable, as complex and ornate carvings depict scenes from the life of Mary in the Bible and from her role in medieval superstitions.

The most famous statue in the cathedral is "The Virgin of the Pieta." The design of the building is intended upon entering the structure to have your eyes drawn to this central statue. It is in this sculpture that Louis XIII's vow to Mary is clearly represented. The central point of this larger than life size carving is the swooning Mary holding the deceased body of Jesus as he was taken from the cross. King Louis XIII had a statue of himself placed next to the mournful Mary, paying homage to her by offering her his crown and scepter on his bent knees. Louis XIII's son, King Louis XIV, also worships Mary and provides precise visual symmetry to the scene. Everything about this cathedral focuses the visitor to Mary. She is the predominant deity who is adored in this structure, by the intention of its founder, by design of the building, by name of the building, and by the numerous artistic representations of her which dominate the building.

The construction and development of this cathedral was synonymous with the Roman Catholic celebrations related to exterminating Protestants in France. First, in the 1200s to early 1300s there were the Albigensians. Celebrations were held in the cathedral as thousands of civilians in southern France were martyred for not submitting to Roman Catholic theology. The Albigensians were rural semi-evangelical people residing in southern France, who under persecution in the 1200s from the Roman Catholic inquisition migrated into the mountains of Italy and northern Spain. Next, the Waldensians, under the leadership of Peter Waldo (1150-1218) and his followers, spread a Bible-centered faith throughout southern France. The bishop of Paris, headquartered in this cathedral, imprisoned Waldensians and executed many for not submitting to Rome. Still later, the Reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) spent time in France and later sent missionaries back to the French people. These French evangelicals Huguenots. In all of these back-to-the-Bible movements, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Notre Dame stood violently against all attempts at restoring a more scriptural based Christianity. The most flagrant example is the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.

The massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day began on August 24, 1572, as thousands of French Protestants, called Huguenots, were ordered to be killed by the sister of the Bishop of Paris, the Queen Catherine de' Medici. With full cooperation of the clergy in the Notre Dame Cathedral, Roman Catholic Swiss mercenaries, peasants, and palace guards awaited the signal of the ringing of the bells from the palace. It is uncertain how many evangelical French Protestants died on the very plaza that I stood on outside the cathedral. We do know that three thousand died in Paris, and over the next several weeks up to seventy thousand Protestants were murdered throughout France. The Huguenot leader, Gaspard Coligny (1519-1572), was murdered, his body insulted, mutilated, and dragged through the streets by the cathedral to the banks of the Seine River, all within sight of the three portals of the cathedral which venerate Mary in her idolatrous medieval superstitious roles. At the time, this massacre was not condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, nor were the murderers ever made to do penance or suffer church discipline. In fact they were heroes. The Roman Pope rejoiced when he heard the news. The head of the Huguenot leader Coligny was sent to Rome in celebration of the atrocities. Celebratory masses were said in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, as the blood of Protestants was shed on the streets and plazas of Paris.

Every year, between ten to twelve million people per year visit the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps the best view of the cathedral is from the Seine River, as the tourist boats travel on three sides of the cathedral, and reveals the brilliant architecture and sensational artistic ability of the cathedral's designers and builders. What is not evident from the plaza, inside the cathedral, or from a boat side view from the Seine River, is the fact that this cathedral is a monument to despotism, twisted theology, political intrigue, and religious genocide. As French Huguenots were murdered by the thousands, the priests in this cathedral celebrated. The historic Protestants of France, whether Albigenses, Waldensians, or Huguenots, sought to release themselves from the bondage of a corrupt Roman Catholic clergy which propagated an anti-Biblical message of devotion to Mary, images, the mass, the Roman papacy; or they were killed.

The Biblical statement, "By their fruits you shall know them" (Matthew 7:20) amply applies to the mariolatry of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. There is nothing Christian about this building or the Mary it claims to represent. The fruits of Mary worship in this cathedral constitutes a hideous list of the most wicked and depraved sins, all done with the supposed blessing of the idols of Mary, in her fabricated roles as Mother of God and Queen of Heaven