PARIS, August 15, 2010 (AFP) - On Sunday, hundreds of faithful participated in the Marian procession organized by the traditionalist church of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet in Paris, reports an AFP journalist.
The procession left the church around 4:30 p.m., headed by Fr. Xavier Beauvais surrounded by several priests and sisters, and made its way towards the Place St. Michel in the pouring rain.
All along the way, religious chants and prayers were the pulse of this procession which was dominated by those over 40 years of age. Upon arrival at the Place, Fr. Beauvais and his accompanying priests knelt and prayed for about thirty minutes before a statue of the Virgin Mary adorned with white roses.
"We feel that in our era of decadent democracy and a Church that has lost the pride of its teachers, we require all the power of this woman (...) to put the old house of France back in order" said Fr. Beauvais to the faithful.
Among them, Emmanuel, who declined to give his surname, said the procession was "a demonstration of faith." For the faithful who says "subscribe to ecumenism," it is important to "renew our faith every day and find that which our country has lost so long ago."
For his part, Galtier, in his sixties and "very committed to the deepest values" of the church, wanted to distance himself from the procession organized by the Diocese of Paris. "I don’t think it fits the way I feel. I’m shocked by it," he asserted, finding instead the church Saint-Nicolas to be “wonderful".
la-Croix
The procession left the church around 4:30 p.m., headed by Fr. Xavier Beauvais surrounded by several priests and sisters, and made its way towards the Place St. Michel in the pouring rain.
All along the way, religious chants and prayers were the pulse of this procession which was dominated by those over 40 years of age. Upon arrival at the Place, Fr. Beauvais and his accompanying priests knelt and prayed for about thirty minutes before a statue of the Virgin Mary adorned with white roses.
"We feel that in our era of decadent democracy and a Church that has lost the pride of its teachers, we require all the power of this woman (...) to put the old house of France back in order" said Fr. Beauvais to the faithful.
Among them, Emmanuel, who declined to give his surname, said the procession was "a demonstration of faith." For the faithful who says "subscribe to ecumenism," it is important to "renew our faith every day and find that which our country has lost so long ago."
For his part, Galtier, in his sixties and "very committed to the deepest values" of the church, wanted to distance himself from the procession organized by the Diocese of Paris. "I don’t think it fits the way I feel. I’m shocked by it," he asserted, finding instead the church Saint-Nicolas to be “wonderful".
la-Croix
