Today, the 200th anniversary of our founder’s birth, was celebrated at Bayonne Cathedral. In this place, Charles Lavigerie was confirmed and received the Holy Spirit, which made him, like all baptised persons, a missionary sent to proclaim the Good News.
The day began with a guided tour of the cathedral dedicated to Mary by its parish priest. The cathedral is a veritable book that has preserved traces of history throughout its evolution, from English to French rule, from the destruction of the Revolution to the changes of the post-Vatican II period, a stopover on the pilgrims’ route to Santiago de Compostela.
On the eve of All Saints’ Day, we took a tour of the saints represented in the side chapels behind the choir. We stopped at St. Martin, whose pilgrimage was an important milestone in the Cardinal’s life, where he had a dream of men of colour shortly before receiving his call to the bishopric of Algiers. The last chapel had no decoration, perhaps due to a lack of funding? Or to leave a place for the Cardinal? As sons and daughters of Lavigerie, we spotted the pelican painted above one of the saints.
Missionaries of Africa from Billère and Spain arrived for the day, as they had the day before, making the round trip in a single day, along with others from Belgium.
The Mass was presided over by Bishop Marc Aillet, in the presence of the retired bishop emeritus, who is close to our community in Billère. In his homily, the bishop in his homily, took up the rich sharing of the previous day’s round table discussion, gave thanks for the missionary impetus brought by our presence to the Church of Bayonne, and took up the interior missionary attitudes emphasised in Pope Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi on the evangelisation of the modern world, the 50th anniversary of which we are celebrating this year: under the inspiration of the Spirit, authenticity of witness, unity, truth, animated by love marked by respect, concern not to hurt, with the fervour of the saints.
The bishop recognised the fervour of our assembly, which was ready to participate more fully and express itself in the very structured liturgy. The liturgy ended with a procession and a song in Swahili, sending us forth on mission.
All the pilgrims continued the communion by celebrating and sharing a cold buffet in a bar/club dedicated to bullfighting, so dear to the people of Bayonne. It was a time to thank the organisers, Sr Cécile and Fr Michel, and Mr Olivier from the tourist office.
This anniversary date marked the solemn signing of the memorandum of understanding between the two missionary societies, M.Afr and SMNDA, for the Adjumani project in northern Uganda, as well as the launch of the Lavigerie App. These symbolic gestures place this collaboration under the protection of our founder.
The theme of the pilgrimage was ‘As a family in Bayonne’. Throughout these three days, the family spirit was evident in many ways. People who were meeting for the first time quickly found something to share, expressed words of gratitude, and made gestures as one does among brothers and sisters of the same family:
While taking a family photo at the Church of the Holy Spirit, a father spontaneously placed his rosary around the neck of the bishop emeritus. We mentioned earlier that he was close to the confreres of Billère. We love him as a confrere…
At the end of the Mass, we greeted a gentleman who is actually the great-grandnephew of one of the Missionaries of Africa from Bayonne. It was an opportunity for him to meet members of his uncle’s religious family.
Two ladies who knew the Sisters and attended catechism classes at their home told us, “You left, and it was very painful. You have returned to us in such large numbers after so many years, from so many countries, and we are deeply moved!’
A member of Lavigerie’s family, expressing gratitude for the mutual enrichment, said: ’You are the sons and daughters of Lavigerie; we are only his descendants.” Nevertheless, we are one family!
Christian, one of Lavigerie’s great-grandnephews, told us that his daughter is currently restoring the museum in Carthage, which Bishop Lavigerie founded. She was unaware of this family connection with her great ancestor, but it is as if a circle has been closed. Africa is a family affair! Coincidence? Providence? …
The archivists are making efforts to find the original baptismal certificate (which has been lost) of Charles Lavigerie. We only have a photo of it…
We can also applaud the boldness of the elected officials of the city of Bayonne, who have promised to restore the statue of the Cardinal to its former glory and to take advantage of the inauguration of the Bonnat Museum to revive the memory of our founder.
We thank the bishop who made himself available to preside over the Eucharist and the laity who, in a truly synodal spirit, did not miss this opportunity to rediscover their ancestor, Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie, and his work. What a joy to find ourselves in such a large extended family! Unforgettable days, unforgettable Lavigerie!
At the heart of this world, the breath of the Spirit
echoes the cry of the Good News
At the heart of this world, the breath of the Spirit
is bringing new energies to life today.
By: Gisela Schreyer, Marie-Christine Rousseau and Pierre Petitfour.