Saint-Lazare was the Congregation’s motherhouse from 1632 to 1792, when it was confiscated and turned into a prison for enemies of the French Revolution. Shortly afterward it became a women’s prison and continued as such until 1932. It was demolished in 1940. The prison’s history is given, accompanied by fourteen images

Udovic, Edward R., C.M., Ph.D.

English

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Vincentian Heritage Journal Volume 28 Issue 1 Article 5 Fall 2008 Pictures from the Past: Saint-Lazare as a Prison: 1792–1940 Edward R. Udovic C.M., Ph.D. Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj Recommended Citation Udovic, Edward R. C.M., Ph.D. (2008) "Pictures from the Past: Saint-Lazare as a Prison: 1792–1940," Vincentian Heritage Journal: Vol. 28 : Iss. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol28/iss1/5 This Articles is brought to you for free and open access by the Vincentian Journals and Publications at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in Vincentian Heritage Journal by an authorized editor of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact digitalservices@depaul.edu. 65 Main entrance on the rue Saint-Denis. Vin centiana Coliection, DePaul University Special Collections, Chicago, IL Pictures from the Past: Saint-Lazare as a Prison: 1792-1940 By EDWARD R. UDOVIC, CM., PHD. Introduction In Ancien Regime Paris the name "Saint-Lazare" would have immediately conjured up images of the venerable mother house of the Lazarists located on the rue Saint-Denis just outside the city gates. This vast headquarters, of arguably the most influential and powerful religious community in France, was also the site of the oft-visited reliquary shrine containing the remains of the quintessential French saint, Vincent de Paul. However, in Paris, throughout the nineteenth and into the first third of the twentieth century the name "Saint-Lazare" would have immediately conjured up popular and even sinister images of a prison hOUSing prostitutes and other women convicts. The name and the place, in both cases, are one and the same. From January 1632 until September 1792, when it was confiscated by the revolutionary government, Saint-Lazare served as the mother house of the Congregation of the Mission. From September 1792, until its destruction beginning in August of 1932, these same buildings served as an infamous Paris prison. Originally founded in the late twelfth century as a leprosarium far outside the gates of the medieval city, the priory of Saint-Lazare already had a long history when it unexpectedly fell into the hands of Vincent de Paul. With no lepers in residence, and only a handful of aging Augustinian monks, the last prior, Adrien LeBon, was 66 Corner of prison fac;-ade, on the rue Sa int-Denis. Vill eelltialla Col/eetioll , DePalll Ulliversity Special Col/eetiolls, Chicago, IL View of inte rio r courtyard, water well , bell tower, and clock. Vineelltialla Colleetioll , DePaul University Special Collections, Chicago, IL searching for a way to put the property to a new ecclesiasti cal use, and guarantee the retirement needs of his dwindling community. Vincent de Paul and the vibrant, newly-founded Congregation of the Mission (1625) were an answer to his prayers. I Vincent's Congregation of the Mission had its first headqu arters in Paris at the run-down College-des-Bons-Enfants near Saint Victor 's ga te.2 Although he was initially very reluctant to take on the burden of administering such a large enterprise as Saint-Lazare, Vincent de Paul was ultimately convinced to take the step and the ancient priory became the mother house of the Congregation of the Mission. Early in the morning of 14 July 1789, the first act of revolutionary violence leading to the attack on the Bastille was the sacking of Saint-Lazare. Over the nex t three years, the revolution spun out of control heading toward the Reign of Terror. The National Assembly disbanded the Lazarists and confisca ted their mother house and all other properties as of 1 September 1792.3 The facility needed very little adaptation and soon opened as a prison to house enemies of the Revolution; it was then transformed into a women's prison. After the recognition of their lega l re-establishment by the newly-restored Louis XVIII in February 1814, the Lazarists immediately asked the king to restore Saint-Lazare to the Congrega tion . The king agreed to do so, until he was reminded of the high cost of building a replacement prison. Eventually, four years later in 1818, Louis found the Lazarists an afford able new mother house loca ted at 95 rue de Sevres.4 For the history of the union of the priory of Sa int- Lazare with the Congrega tion of the Mission see, Pierre Coste, CM., The Life al1d Works of St. Villeellt de Paul, 3 vols. (New York: ew City Press, 1987), 1:160-176. For background on the College-des-Bons-Enfants, see Ibid., 1:144-148. For more in formation on the fate of Sa in t-Laza re see, Edwa rd R. Udov ic, CM., fea ll-Baptiste Etienne alld the Vincel1tiall Revival (Chi cago: Vincentian Stud ies Ins titute, 2001), 7-19. He reinafter ci ted as Revival. Udovic, Revival, 99-104. 67 "An immense edifice of imposing and repulsive aspect"5 In his classic 1845 novel, The Mysteries of Paris, the French author Eugene Sue begins a chapter dedicated to Saint-Lazare by noting: The prison of Saint-Lazare, especially devoted to female thieves and prostitutes, is daily visited by many ladies, whose charity, whose names, and whose social position, command universal respect. These ladies educated in the midst of the splendors of fortune - these ladies, properly belonging to the best society, come every week to pass long hours with the miserable prisoners of Saint-Lazare; watching in these degraded souls for the least indication of an aspiration towards good, the least regret for a past criminal life, - and encouraging the good tendencies, urging repentance, and, by the potent magic of the words, Duty, Honor, Virtue, withdrawing from time-to-time one of these abandoned, fallen, degraded, despised creatures, from the depths of utter pollution .6 Plan and overview of the prison site. Vill eel1tialla Col/eetiol1 , DePaul University Special Col/ectiol1s, Chicago, IL During the mid-nineteenth century Saint-Lazare, or "St. Lago" as it was colloquially called by its inmates, became a model women's prison attracting the attention of prison reformers from as far away as the United States. In 1853, under the conservative and pro-Catholic empire of Napoleon III, day-to-day administration of the prison was turned over to an order of catholic nuns who specialized in this ministry: the Sisters of Marie-Joseph. The presence and role of the sisters reflected contemporary religious and social views that prisons existed as much for rehabilitation as for punishment of inmates. In 1872, a book entitled The Prisoners o!St.-Lazare written by one of the Parisian Eugene Sue, The Mysteries of Pa ris (London: Chapman and Hall , 1845-46), 1 :191. Ibid. , 1:190-191. 68 Side entrance for prisone rs being transpor ted to and fro m the p ri son. Note sun dia l da ted 1683 over the doorway. Vincen tial1a Col/ectioll, DePa1l1 Ulliversity Special Col/ectiolls, Chicago, IL Inte rior view of the re fecto ry. Vin celltialla Col/ectioll , DePaul Ulliversity Special Col/ections, Chicago, IL ladies who worked in the CEuvre des Liberees de Sain t-Lazare was translated into English fo r an American audience? The translator, Mrs. E.M. McCarthy noted, Uthe evils that fes ter within the bosom of French society may have peculiar fea tures of their own, but it cannot be denied that there is at leas t suffi cien t parity in the state of affa irs here to m ake this book useful to the America n public.us She suggested that the model of Saint-Laza re was wo rth considering. She no ted: Society owes it to itself to shield the hones t poor, especially those of the weaker sex, from the d anger to which destituti on exposes them, and to do so in a way that will no t wound a just pr ide . It ought to protect those who, once un fo rtuna te, desire to return to the paths of virtue and honor. . . In the incarcerati on of women for transgressions of the law, moral re formation, more than merely vindi ctive punishment should be the object kept in view. This is to be accomplished no t by obtrusive measures, no t by violating the religious freedom of the pri soner, but by means and opportunities ever present and ever accessible to her, by w hich conscience m ay be awakened, or directed when awakened, and a path made clear by which she may escape a life of ignomin y.9 The prison was always the object of a fa ir amount of publicity and morbid curiosity on the part of the press and publi c. For exa mple, in October 1904 the Madame ****, Tile Prisollers of St.-Lazare, tra ns. Mrs. E.M. McCar thy (New Yo rk: D. Apple ton & Company, 1872). 5. 8 Ibid., 6. Ibid. 69 popular Parisian weekly Le Monde lllustre published a detailed and lavishly illustrated article describing the different types of prisoners, daily life at the prison, the infirmary and workshops, and highlighting the almost monastic atmosphere introduced by the nuns.lO The prison had a large chapel, and the hallways and refectory were decorated with numerous shrines and religious images. Interestingly enough, accommodations were even made for meeting the religious needs of Protestant and Jewish prisoners. Entrance to the re fec to ry. Vill centiana Collection, DePaul University Special Collections, Chicago, IL "A House of Morale Corruption and of Contagious Illnesses"l1 As early as 1811 there was talk of tearing the old prison down.12 Time-and-time-again over the course of the nex t century such talk would appear and reappear. The prison would seem to be doomed, and then nothing would happen. 13 In 1875 the Conseil generaLe de La Seine resolved to demolish the prison, yet still more decades passed .14 In 1902 the same body voted to devote five million francs to the demolition of the prison. IS Ye t, still more decades passed and the price tag of the demolition, relocation, and building of a new prison escalated. In 1927, the Conseil Municipal again voted for the plan and divided the project into three phases, as funding became available.16 In the meantime, conditions within w hat had once been a "model" p rison deteriorated with each passing year. In February 1931, the French pacifist, anarchist, 10 E. Lapage, "Sa int Lazare," Le Monde II/lI stre, 8 October 1904, 292-294. Hereinafte r cited as Lapage. II Jea nne Humbert, Le Pall rrissair (Saint-Lazare) Chases Viles, Entendues et Vecues (Par is: Ed itions Prima, 1931). Hereinafte r cited as H umbert. J2 Jean Robique t, Les Viellx Hopitaux Fral/ ~a is : Saillt-Lazare (Lyons: Les Labora toi res Ciba, 1938), 43. Hereinafte r cited as Robique t. " Lapage, 292. 14 [bid . 15 In [bid. Robiquet, 44. 70 and femini st, Jeanne Humbert published a passionate manifesto demanding that Saint-Lazare be torn down, as a symbolic beginning of the reform of the entire French penal system.1? She noted: It is impossible for one to write too violently against the Saint-Lazare prison. One cannot speak out enough against the survival of this leprosy at the heart of Paris. One cannot protest enough against the ignoble tactics that a re employed by the jailers, nor against their crying injustices, nor against the scandalous abuses, nor against the revolting exploitation of the detainees. One cannot say enough about the insolence and brutality of the guards. One cannot say enough against the promiscuity and the vermin that infes t the dormitories; let alone the repulsive filth of the hallways and cells. One cannot not cry loud enough aga inst this house of detention which is not only the foyer of all vices, but also that of tuberculosis. ls Inher socialist critique Humbert was clear in tha t she was not just attacking the penal system, but also the society which produced it: "1 speak in order to seek a more just humanity, to demand an equal sharing ... that will establish the equilibrium necessary to maintain social order, that will facilitate fraternal unders tanding and solidarity, and diminish considerabl y the number of evildoers . . . Abolish poverty and you will abolish the prisons."19 Sewing workroom. Note relig ious images and shrine on the far wa ll Vincentiana Col/ection, DePaul Univers itlj Special Col/ections, Chicago, IL View of inte rior ha llway. Vil/ centiana Col/ectiol/ , DePaul University Special Collecliol/s, Chicago, IL 17 Humbert (1890-1986) knew conditions at Sa in t-La za re firsthand, hav ing been imprisoned there for a year's time because of her ac ti v ities in support of a woman's right to have access to birth control. See Humbert, preface. '" Ibid., 185. 19 [bid., 186. 71 Inte rior stairwell. View of ancient vaulting be low the prison. Vil1cential1a Col/ection, Vincentiana Col/ection, DePa1l1 Univers ihj Special Col/ectioll s, Chicago, IL DePaul University Special Col/ectiolls, Chicago, IL By August of 1932, relocation of the prisoners and the other judicial functions of the prison was complete, and old Saint-Lazare was ready for demolition.20 However, it would be eight years before the wrecking crews would finally demolish all the prison's extensive fabric of buildings and walls. Preservationist groups tried in vain to prevent the destruction of the oldest parts of the complex.21 Saint-Lazare had escaped its last death sentence, however, and after almost seven centuries the buildings disappeared with hardly a physical trace remaining. However, there are other traces of old Saint-Lazare still to be seen. In this case they are photographic traces. Sometime in the early years of the twentieth century 20 21 Interior view frolll the upper floor section of the prison dedicated to housing prisoners awaiti ng tria l. Vil1 cclltiana Col/ectioll , DePaul Un iversity Special Col/ectiolls, Chicago, IL View of the prison wing frolll w ithin the inte rior courtyard. Vil1centialla Col/ectioll, DePaul University Special Collections, Chicago, IL Anonymous, " Lazare Day," Tillie Magaz ine, 22 August 1932. Robiqu et, 44. 72 an unknown photographer took a series of photographs of the prison Saint-Lazare, and of the Lazarists' new mother house complex on the rue de Sevres. These old glass plate negatives were recently re-discovered in the Vincentian archives in Paris. The photographs document old Saint-Lazare at its height as a women's prison, and they capture the walls, hallways, stairways, and doorways that would have been so familiar to generations of Lazarists from Saint Vincent's time to the French Revolution. A selection of these photogra phs is published for the first time to accompany this article. Exte rior view of the prison wing. Vin centiana Collection, DePaul University Special Collections, Chicago, IL -

Pictures from the Past: Saint-Lazare as a Prison: 1792–1940

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Pictures from the Past: Saint-Lazare as a Prison: 1792–1940

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