Statue de Notre-Dame de France

About

The statue of Notre-Dame de France is a monumental work by sculptor Roger de Villiers and forged by Raymond Subes to decorate the pontifical pavilion during the universal exhibition of 1937 in Paris. The golden copper statue measures 7.2 m and represents the Virgin Mary carrying on her shoulder the Child Jesus, with her arms open to the world. Conserved in place a year after the exhibition, Cardinal Verdier expressed the wish that the statue should not be destroyed, but installed on a hill near Paris.

He launched a fundraiser to that end, but the war and his death ended the project. In 1959, the statue was installed at the top of the Saint-Honoré church in Amiens. It remained there until 1982 when it had to be dismantled due to cracks in its structure.

Stored for several years, at the abandonment, it was recovered in 1984 by Edmond Fricoteaux, notary at Saint-Denis, who wished to have a large statue of the Virgin erected, in thanks following his conversion. The statue is located in Baillet-en-France, 18 km north of Paris, in October 1988, in full fields, on the edge of National 1, at the top of a pedestal of 25 m high. At the foot of the statue, an oratory...