We enter the Necker-Enfants Malades hospital, rue de Sèvres, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, as in a train station.
We sneak under the porch, the ballet of anonymous people, white coats, patients, visitors, reveals the decrepit buildings.
The silence is lead.
At the corner of a corridor, a panel indicates the chapel.
Not a crucifix, no ostentatious religious sign, its presence within the public establishment is discreet.
Father Nicolas, hospital chaplain since 2018, stands upright in the dark.
Only its Roman collar tells us about its function.
After a brief hello, he pushes the door of the chapel.
The room is cramped, the carpet on the floor is faded and the concrete walls have remained in their raw state.
Despite everything, the place is warm, it invites contemplation.
The golden altar, dominated by a Christ on the cross,
is signed by the visual artist Dominique Kaeppelin.
Its color warms the oratory:
“Gold symbolizes the light, the presence of God”
, underlines the father…
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