A priest, in priestly vestments, raises the host at the bottom of a Romanesque vault.
The church of this lower Vendée countryside resisted the demonstrative piety of the faithful of the 19th century.
In all the surrounding villages, the old stones, which had survived the Revolution, were dismantled to build a more modern church.
After communion, the abbot reads the week's announcements and stumbles over several words.
“We never understand anything
,” grumbles an old man.
“Be nice, he’s African
,” his wife lectures him.
The Church in France uses Fidei Donum
priests
(gift of Faith in Latin).
This name is taken from an encyclical by Pope Pius XII, published in 1959, which authorizes bishops to
"loan"
diocesan priests to respond to missions abroad.
“Between 2000 and 3000 foreign priests are present in France”
, underlines Father Élie Delplace, coordinator of a cell which welcomes them within the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF), of which
“80% are from Africa”
.
Concretely…
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