Religious people, farmers and parishioners took part in a procession in Perpignan on Sunday, praying to Saint Gaudérique, patron saint of farmers, for rain to finally fall in the Pyrénées-Orientales, a department hit by a historic drought.
A sign of the lack of precipitation, the bearers of a statue of Saint Gaudérique were able to advance to the middle of the bed of the Têt river, one of the main rivers in Roussillon.
“Saint Gauderique, patron of farmers, listen to our petition and be their protector
,” the priests intoned.
This devotion, specifies Jean-Luc Antoniazzi, historian and president of the cultural association of Saint Jean Cathedral in Perpignan,
“it is not something new, it goes back more than a thousand years”
.
“Traditionally, every time there is a climate crisis, the relics of Saint Gaudérique are immersed in the Tet, the coastal river, to ask for rain if necessary.”
For Gérard Majoral, arborist and market gardener in Thuir, near Perpignan,
“we perhaps attach a little more value and importance to what is carried today by this belief, because we obviously need it. »
.
“Last year we came and we had to be there this year as well.
We put all our trust in the Lord and in Saint Gaudérique.
It doesn't hurt and we hope
,” testifies Josette LLanes, a 74-year-old parishioner, granddaughter of farmers.
Saint-Gaudérique VALENTINE CHAPUIS / AFP
Christophe Lefebvre, first vicar of Perpignan Cathedral, says he observes a
“renewed piety for local saints”
.
While the north-east of Occitanie is hit by floods, the drought is tormenting the department of Pyrénées-Orientales, where the rainfall deficit has been alarming since the spring of 2022. The ritual of the procession of Saint Gaudérique has reappeared in 2023, after having fallen into disuse for more than a century, according to the archpriest of Perpignan Cathedral, Benoît de Roeck.
Saint Gaudérique (Galdéric in Catalan), a peasant from the neighboring department of Aude who lived in the 9th century, is one of the best known and celebrated Catalan saints.
Between the 11th and 19th centuries, 800 processions in his honor took place in the region.
It was generally invoked for lack of water or in case of flooding.