Cathedral of the Resurrection in Évry

The diocese

Crea­ted in 1966: 194 com­munes. 55 km (34 mi) from North to South, 40 km (25 mi) from East to West. Cros­sed by the river Sei­ne in the North-East and by a den­se net­work of road and rail­ways. 1,300,000 inhabitants. 110 urban communes : 94 % of the population. 84 rural communes : 6 % of the population, but two-thirds of the diocese's surface.

700,000 baptised, 40 to 50,000 churchgoers, 5 curacies, 23 pastoral sectors, 108 parishes, 250 churches. 81 diocesan priests, 39 "lent" by others dioceses and 25 monks, 47 permanent deacons, 38 communities of nuns. Numerous lay persons in responsability. Monsignor Michel Pansard, our bishop since August 2017.

The cathedral

The cathedral of the Resurrection was built between 1992 and 1995 by the swiss architect Mario Botta. It is dedicated to St Corbinian, born near Évry in 680, and evangelist of Bavaria. It cost 13 million Euros to build.

Address of John-Paul II (August 22, 1997)

It has the shape of a truncated cylinder with a diameter of 38 m (125 ft) rising to 34 m (111 ft). The walls are covered with 670,000 bricks forming geometrical designs. The top is crowned with twenty-four lime trees, symbol of life. The metal bel-tower at the top, has five bells. The cathedral is next to a series of buildings with the form of a cloister.

The nave is a vertical cylinder of 29 m (95 ft) in diametre built in bricks. The ground is covered in black granite. The glass part between the roof and the walls enables a natural vertical lighting.

At the back of the chancel, a window symbolises a tree. The marble altar lies on a column which stands in the crypt. Above, the Christ, was made in Tanzania at the beginning of the 20th century. At the front of the choir, the marble baptismal font enables baptisms by immersion. It is dominated by a statue of the Virgin Mary in wood, dating from the 16th century. On the right, the cathedra, the bishop's see, is enhanced by a special brick decoration. A bronze statue represents St Corbinien. In the ramp leading to the choir, the Way of the Cross is made up of three sheets of petrified wood from the Arizona.

The "Day chapel", in octagonal shape, enables more intimate ceremonies. Located beneath the chancel, the crypt includes twenty-four tombs for the bishops of Évry.