About a year ago, a friend and I took a bucket-list trip to France. I remember standing in the middle of the nave the center isle of the church , and tilting my head back as my eyes followed the lines of the pointed arches toward the tall stained-glass windows near the ceiling.
I starred at the vaulted ceiling and windows until my neck ached, taking in the heavenly beauty of it all. A few days later, I visited Sainte-Chapelle, a small chapel in the heart of Paris known for its stained glass. As I walked into the space, I was awed by 15 beautiful foot stained-glass windows that bathed the room in periwinkle light. Every windowpane depicted a detailed Bible scene, beginning in Genesis, and continuing through the life of Christ.
The outside light filtered through the stained glass and transformed the chapel into an otherworldly space. As I stood and admired the beautiful Gothic design of both Chartres Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle, I felt that I truly could have stayed there forever, admiring the craftsmanship of the unknown masons and artisans while basking in colored light.
But visiting those monuments turned out to be much more than a checked bucket-list itemβtheir beauty and spirit helped me gain a deeper appreciation for the temple and how it helps me grow closer to the Savior. I recently took an art history course and learned about Abbot Suger , an influential figure in French artistic and religious history, who was charged by King Louis VI of France β37 with the remodeling of Saint - Denis Cathedral.
The medieval church had been the burial spot for all the French monarchs since the sixth century until that time. Suger wanted to transform the dark church into one filled with light, and his new design incorporated pointed arches and used architectural innovations to open the stone walls to large stained-glass windows. The distinct light and lines of Saint-Denis would spread across France, becoming hallmarks of the Gothic style and influencing the design of many structures.
