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After 40 years, the bronze statue of Jesus baptized by John the Baptist has regained its original meaning facing Saint John's Cathedral.
The fruit of the hard work of Father Tolon, former auxiliary priest of the cathedral and dean of the canons of the chapter of Saint-Jean.
“
The meaning of this statue has always amazed me.
Regularly I said to myself, but why is it in the wrong direction?
And most people had no answer
, ”confides to Le
Figaro
the man of the Church, now retired.
Doubts about the origin of the bad sense of the statue
Seven years ago, he decided to write to the town hall of the 5th arrondissement and even went so far as to contact the architect of historical monuments Didier Repellin.
“
I never had an answer or so without result
,” he laments.
But last year, he spoke "
by chance
" of this incongruity to the wife of a patient whom he was taking to communion.
“
Without telling me, she sent a message to everyone and organized a meeting with me and a journalist from
Progress”, details the man of the Church.
An article that makes Philippe Carry, deputy in charge of heritage at the town hall of the 5th arrondissement and also a watchmaker by profession, react.
The latter then struggles to put the work right side up: “
For me, as an artisan, heritage connects people.
There is no political label for heritage, it is a matter of sensitivity.
This statue, whether you are a Christian, of another religion or a simple citizen, speaks to everyone because heritage connects people through the work of art.
»
Today, my comment is that his bad positioning is simply the work of jokers.
It's a hypothesis of course, but it's the one that seduces me because I find it funny
Father Tolon
Finally, at the beginning of March, four members of the biodiversity and nature department in town came to put the statue back in the right direction.
But it remains to know now the exact date of the bad pose.
According to the deputy, between 1981 and 1983, the facade of the primatiale Saint-Jean was restored.
“
There has always been a fountain here since the Renaissance period.
This dates from 1845. In the early 1980s, we took the opportunity to clean it but the workers misplaced it by half a turn.
So much so that Christ had returned
,” explains Philippe Carry.
A story shared by Father Tolon a short time ago and his meeting with Michel Cacaud, former rector of the cathedral.
"
He told me that 15 years ago she was in the right direction.
Today, my comment is that his bad positioning is simply the work of jokers.
It's a hypothesis of course, but it's the one that seduces me because I find it funny
, ”laughs the former auxiliary priest.
A greener place?
If the debate remains difficult to settle, the man of the Church has now started another, the greening of the Place Saint-Jean and the refilling of the fountain.
“
The lions of the basins work but not the system of the bronze statue, where the water must come out of the shell of John the Baptist to signify the baptism.
I think it would be a great second step.
Then, it will be necessary to make this place without any trees a more welcoming place for the people of Lyon, pilgrims and tourists.
Me, I would see lime trees for example
,” concludes Father Tolon.
A timely wish that could well see the light of day since a greening project for Old Lyon should be presented in the coming months by the town hall of the 5th arrondissement.