Nantes: where have the eight former angels of the Saint-Nicolas Basilica gone?

The eight former angels of the Saint-Nicolas Basilica have still not been recovered by the city of Nantes. (©Farah Sadallah / news Nantes)

At the top of the spire of the transept on the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in Nantes (Loire Atlantique) majestically enthroned eight bronze angels, covered with gold leaf. Their lead ancestors, unhooked between 2009 and 2014, at the time of the restoration of the basilica, have gone during this period and have still not been recovered.

One of them, however, was found in September 2020 during a a sales deposit at an antique dealer in Nantes, recount Le Figaro. In the process, the town hall lodged a complaint, thus committing a police investigation. “Other procedures are now underway so that the statues can return to Nantes”, confirms the city, without giving more information.

Father Loïc Le Huen, parish priest of Notre Dame de Nantes, tells actu Nantes what he knows about the story of the missing angels.
Father Loïc Le Huen, parish priest of Notre-Dame de Nantes, tells Nantes news what he knows about the story of the missing angels. (©Farah Sadallah / news Nantes)

Father Loïc Le Huen, parish priest of Notre-Dame de Nantes, is much more talkative about this story, although he only arrived in 2019. At the presbytery, located on Place Saint-Félix, he tells Nantes news the story of this disappearance which, according to him, is the work ofa misunderstanding between the city of Nantes and the company in charge of the restoration of the basilica.

Too damaged to find their place

Originally, these eight ancient angels were made for the construction of the basilica in the mid-19th century.e century by the architect Jean-Baptiste Lassus, pupil of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, great restorer of Notre-Dame-de-Paris in the 19th centurye. The basilica was thus classifiedjust like the angels, explains the priest.

But when it was restored between 2009 and 2014, “after 150 years of good and loyal service”, the eight angels were lowered from their arrows. After inspection, it was found that they were too damaged to regain their place at the top of the building. “The lead was worn, there were a few holes. It’s not easy to restore lead,” says Father Loïc Le Huen. They were therefore replaced without losing their heritage classification.

“No one cared about the old angels anymore”

The regional directorate of cultural affairs (Drac) then asked “to make casts of the originals to make bronze copies so that they are more resistant. They were also covered in gold leaf,” he continues.

The copies were thus installed instead of the others in lead. “At the parish level, the matter was settled. The angels have found their place. There is no subject. This is part of heritage restoration. No one cared about the old angels anymore. Since they own the town, we didn’t deal with it. We had no rights, ”clears the priest.

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Did the entrepreneur leave with the angels?

However, the eight lead angels eventually disappear without leaving a trace or almost. The priest hypothesizes that the contractor, in charge of the restoration, left with the angels thinking it was trashor end-of-site waste that is returned to it.

“There was a misunderstanding between the city and the entrepreneur”, interprets Father Loïc Le Huen, thinking that the company was in good faith by retrieving the angels, not knowing that they belonged to the city. The latter would not have claimed them before one of the angels was finally discovered in a sales deposit.

Sold to Spain

The eight angels indeed seem to have been resold. One of them was even found in Spain. “The authorities know where they are, but it hasn’t been recovered yet,” he explains. The procedure is still ongoing. “Justice must untangle all this and record the responsibility or not of the company”, he continues.

The priest took us to the top of the basilica tower to admire the spire and its angels.  But before that, he showed us where he would see the ancient angels enthroned once found.
The priest accompanied Nantes news at the top of the basilica tower to admire the spire and its angels. But before that, he showed where he would see the old angels enthroned once found. (©Farah Sadallah / news Nantes)

In the meantime, the priest would like the eight former angels to return to the interior of the basilica, at the level of the triforium gallery, upstairs, in the center of the church. “There they will be safe. »

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Nantes: where have the eight former angels of the Saint-Nicolas Basilica gone?


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