Former Auxiliary Bishop of Paris from 2006 to 2012, Mgr Jean-Yves Nahmias is Bishop of Meaux.
For decades, in France as in most developed countries, we have observed a large-scale phenomenon: periurbanisation.
Our countryside is emptying for the benefit of our metropolises.
In ten years, between 2007 and 2017, 2.8 million additional people have been identified in the urban areas of the territory, according to INSEE.
It is becoming imperative to respond to the new issues and challenges generated by this phenomenon.
The Church must do its part and respond to these new challenges.
It must make sure to take into consideration all the complexity of changes in society in order to respond to them perfectly.
For example, in Seine-et-Marne between 1990 and 2030, the population should increase by more than 50% while becoming younger, according to INSEE.
At the same time, it has considerably diversified and concentrated in urban areas.
At the gates of greater Paris, we see families living together for generations and Ile-de-France residents leaving Paris and its immediate surroundings in search of a new anchorage.
The dynamic of our diocese is also remarkable, the number of catechumens and confirmations of adults is growing steadily.
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The Church of Saint-Michel de Serris was built to hold only 200 people.
Jean-Yves Nahmias
Seine-et-Marne is representative of France today, and we find a strong paradox there: our churches are either too small to accommodate all the faithful, or they are located in the heart of territories with lower population density.
Concretely, the city of Serris, which is in the heart of Val d'Europe (Seine-et-Marne), experienced a demographic growth of more than 300% between 1999 and 2019, it went from 2,000 to 9,500 inhabitants.
The same is true for neighboring towns.
The churches of this territory were built, at the time when these cities counted only a few tens or hundreds of inhabitants, they are today unsuited to the needs for the Christians of the territory.
So the
Eglise Saint-Michel de Serris was built to hold only 200 people.
However, the role of the Church is to give the means, today, to future generations to live their faith and to evangelize.
Pope Francis has also called on Catholic communities to make themselves visible and present in the world;
it starts with us, in our territories.
We have a duty now to help future adults build themselves, humanly and spiritually.
The Church of France has been a great builder for centuries, it has always built the steeples of our towns and villages, it has shaped our landscapes and our architectural heritage.
It has given the village a heart, a soul: its church.
The villages were built materially and spiritually around it.
It is part of his identity.
We have always been a social actor favoring gatherings, the sharing of value, it is a dynamic of socialization and integration.
It is also an important player in the education of younger generations with its Catholic schools which have educated many generations and will continue to do so if we give ourselves the means.
We have the will to perpetuate this role and this commitment in the city and society.
At the time of the launch of the construction of two churches and a school complex, nearly two thirds are financed thanks to the generosity of the faithful.
Jean-Yves Nahmias
Faced with social, geographical or even political changes, the Church has always adapted and perpetuated this heritage.
In turn, we continue to meet the needs of believers by building churches that are true places to gather and recharge.
It is in this spirit that we have launched the construction of two new churches and a school complex in Seine-et-Marne.
In the heart of Val d'Europe, the school will eventually be able to accommodate 1,500 students, from kindergarten to high school.
The large church of Saint-Colomban will offer a vast and suitable place for meeting the Catholics of the territory, able to accommodate 900 faithful.
The Sainte-Bathilde church, in Chelles, will be equipped with 800 places to bring together the faithful of the territory.
Like this project, we must be focused on young people and on the future.
We must think over a horizon of 50, 100, 200 years... Since 1905, the Church has been responsible for the construction of its places of worship, the financial effort therefore rests on its faithful.
Our major construction projects, two new churches and the school complex, represent an investment of nearly 50 million euros.
At the time of the launch of the construction of these buildings, nearly two thirds are financed thanks to the generosity of the faithful.
We are at work to mark the 21st century with our mark, by building the Church of today and tomorrow, by responding to the new needs emerging from changes in society and by allowing future generations to build themselves , humanly and spiritually.
