New decorations.

Orange sails and chimney candle holders

During the winter months we always choose one part of La Tuilerie to upgrade, it gives us something to do and makes sure that the gites are always up to scratch. This winter’s jobs were to redo L’Ecurie’s bathroom and passageway walls and to finally sort out our own bathroom. While both jobs were extensive, they are nothing compared to the massive renovation that is ongoing in the Church in Taizé. It was a brave soul that decided to redecorate that building!

End of June, no end in sight

I mentioned a few years ago that under-floor heating had been installed and that the body of the church had been redecorated, but this winter’s job was to thermally insulate the east end of the church.

To my great surprise, this has been taken as an opportunity to re-think the decorations. The much loved iconic orange sails have gone along with the chimney brick candle “holders” and multi-coloured cloth squares have taken their place. When I went to check it out at about Easter time the change was disturbing, but I heard it was a temporary design.

Still hard at work

Things have only got “worse” since. The promise of finished work by Pentecoste never materialised and as of the end of June it was covered in scaffolding. When I went yesterday there was still a lifting platform and someone was busily covering up the new blue and yellow expanses with a white insulating wall. It is looking more finished, but I fear there is still a long way to go.

Let’s hope the new version will materialise soon, the last few months have been a bit like praying in a building site.

First Sunday of the month

Looking up at the main tower

Winter is a great time for some serious museum visiting. Firstly there are not too many tourists around, which lets you get a very good look at what there is to see without jostling with bus tours and over and above that, most museums are free on the first Sunday of the month starting in November and going through to March.

The first Sunday in November we were at the doors of Cluny abbey to see what has happened since our last visit.

Viewed from the "Farinier"

They have changed the film again, for the better this time. Gone are the 3D glasses, which is a relief as they never fitted me well and always made me feel a little queasy. Also at the entry to the film room there was a rack which suggested that you could use a headset to translate what was going on in the film. This is an excellent idea because the film gives a lot of information about the abbey and considering the number of foreign visitors there are, it would be a good idea if they can understand it too. However, I don’t know if they are considering the idea or if the headsets are only available in the summer, but there weren’t any when we were there. So please Cluny, we are waiting!

It is also nice that you can get back into the area where there are some half restored columns which are outside. This particular point of view, looking up and down the length of the church from “inside”, really gives you a real impression of the original length.

Cees emerging from the blue lit carpet....

Sadly the interactive screens have gone which projected the 3D model on to what you can actually see. They were not in very good working order last time we were there and I am not surprised they have now gone, but it is a pity that this facility has been lost purely because the hardware was not robust enough. Let’s hope they will get some more sturdy screens and reinstall this facility before the next tourist season.

There was a temporary art installation where you could go inside a blue lit cubicle made out of carpet and listen to the sounds of birds and Gomera whistling language. A bit surreal and I am obviously a Philistine as I didn’t quite “get it” but it was nice and warm on a cold day!

However, in the transept there was a beautiful sculpture by Anne Poivilliers made up if filaments and layers of material swirling around itself, the explication says “The filaments are assembled to creation a volume which appears to be suspended in space.” It certainly adds to the transept and I hope they will leave it there, but I suspect it is only temporary.

Anne Poivilleirs' beautiful sculpture

I am sure there are more details that I missed, but it just shows that the site is constantly developing and worthy of regular visits.

So tomorrow is the next “first Sunday” - we are still debating where to go, can't wait.

Easter Morning

Gathered around the Easter fire

Our first visitors always arrive at Easter and yesterday while I was explaining to our new gite guests that the Easter morning service was at 10.00 and that they had to be well in time or the church would be barred, they told me that there was to be a fire on Saturday evening and the evening service was being held in a field. Intrigued, I went on to the Taizé website to discover that there was to be an all-night vigil around a fire and then the Eucharist was to be held at 06.30 and not at the usual 10.00.

Me and mornings do not go together, but even so this fire and early service intrigued me enough to get up at 05.00 (yes that is five o’clock in the morning!) and head up the hill. I knew where the field would be as there have been more open-air services in Taizé and so after parking amazingly close to the church (third parking space on the left would you believe) I walked to the field. As I turned the corner I could hear quiet singing voices and I could see the bonfire and two icons which had been lit. As I got closer I saw at least 200 youngsters sitting or lying on the grass, I am sure there would have been more had it not been drizzling with rain.

Lighting the lamp

After several songs and some Bible readings in English and French, one of the brothers announced that as dawn was at hand they would light a lantern from the fire to take to the church to light the Pascal candle and we were to lead the way. So off we went in procession to the church. The front doors of the church were already barred as that section was full and judging by the huge queues at the other doors, I wasn’t at all convinced that we would all get in. In fact in view of previous years’ overcrowding, I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to get in. But in I did get and there was quite a lot of space still available. Even though the flow of people kept coming right up to the start of the service, the church didn’t get to a dangerously overfull state and I decided to stay. I didn’t manage to lay my hands on a candle or a song book, but I know most of the songs anyway, so that wasn’t any hardship.

The service started in a normal sort of way, songs, Bible readings, more songs and then there was a lot of talking in French and I suddenly realised that a novice was taking his vows and being accepted into the community as a brother. This is something I have wanted to witness for a long time and here it was happening right in front of me! Just at the end of his vows I heard the sound of car tires on the gravel at the side of the church where no cars should be and, call me a wimp if you like, I got very nervous. The service was long from over, we hadn’t even got to the silence and the consecration of the bread and wine hadn’t been done, let alone handing out the communion, but I decided, as everyone stood up to applaud the new brother, it was time for my departure. Back at the car I saw that it was 07.30 so I had been there for more than two hours. After going to the baker, I headed for home and as I write this I can hear the bells ringing out to wish the world a happy Easter, it is now 08.30, so I am glad I left early, I don’t think I could have coped with another hour on the floor.

All in all it was a very interesting experience and it has solved the overcrowding problem of the 10.00 service, either many people didn’t know about the time change or 06.30 is too early for most. So a big well done to the brothers for this innovation and a happy Easter to everyone.

New Year’s Service in a Romanesque Church

The welcoming interior of Taizé's Romanesque church

Every year the vast majority of the brothers and permanents go off to the European meeting over the NewYear (this year in Riga) and Taizé is practically empty. The last service in the big church this year was Christmas morning and then the remaining brothers retreated into the small Romanesque church in the village.

I have promised myself that I would actually go to the Sunday service between Christmas and New Year one year and this year that Sunday fell on the 1st of January - perfect timing.

The stained glass window above
the front door

I arrived well in time and the church, which is usually empty of all but a few wooden kneeling stools scattered around, had been decked out with benches for the older brothers who would be attending and for the older than average congregation that was expected. The church was heated with discrete electric heaters under the side benches which made it warm and cosy inside. It felt so much more welcoming than it does in the summer months when it is packed with the young visitors who make one feel uncomfortable about entering the building.

When I arrived there were “books” stacked at the entrance to the church and on one of the front benches, entitled “Cantique – Avent et nativité”. I have never seen these books before and they gave the full sung mass for the Christmas period and a number of songs I have never heard sung before. Interestingly these songs had verses, only 3 or 4, but still this is something that the modern song book shies away from.

By the time the bells started, there were 12 or 13 brothers and about 50 in the congregation. We all fitted easily into the church.

Sung mass for the Christmas period

I say there were 12 or 13 brothers as I am not entirely convinced that the priest was one of the brothers. The Eucharist is conducted by a priest of which there are a few within the community itself, but visiting priests also perform the task from time to time. Whilst I am sure that I have seen today’s chap before, his whole “way of doing things” didn’t seem to be the way it is normally done. He gave a short sermon, which is very unusual, whilst Brother Alois does that sometimes, I have never heard one on a Sunday morning. I also felt that the silence was shorter than normal, but maybe that was just me. But the real giveaway for me was that he waited at the door to shake the hands of the parting congregation, whilst the brothers snuck out through the side door.

Frère Roger with the original brothers
when this church was used every day

The whole atmosphere during the service was one of a real monastic order - or should I say what I think an old-fashioned monastic order would be about and I can well imagine that the brothers who partake of these days of intense quiet in this little ancient church must have a great sense of stillness that the large church, and certainly its thousand-fold congregations of the summer months, cannot possibly give them. It has been said that the original order sung all its masses from start to finish and that the Sunday mass is the only service that maintains a high level of singing in its content. This short week of the brothers returning to the Romanesque church also sees for them a return to these sung masses - I wonder how many of those present today were among the original brothers who started here so long ago?

After everyone had gone I returned to take pictures, the church still smelled of extinguished candles and even with its grim grey walls, it still felt very welcoming. For these few days a year, the church is returned to its original purpose, the holding of services and singing with acoustics that really zing - it is a pity it isn’t used this way more often.

It's that time of year again!

Week one and we're off

I couldn’t go the whole of December and not blog about the Taizé nativity scene now could I? So here you have it, the 2016 assessment of the Christmas Crib. As every year the nativity scene is managed by the permanents, so it changes each year as a new set of ideas and ideologies inspire its creation.

The whole advent period, there have been real live sheep in attendance next to the church, so no matter what day or what time you visited, there was always something to chat to. I think their last presence must have been Christmas Eve as Christmas morning they had gone. The theme this year was not as outspoken as previous years but was obviously influenced by the terrible situation in Syria. There is some beautiful Arabic calligraphy on the walls of the church, well done to whoever made those.

Week four- everyone is there except one person

Week one showed a near empty stable, a couple of sheep and the ox and ass were there. No sign of the (un)happy couple and no star. By the second week, the shepherds had arrived and the stall was full of sheep and I mean full, there has been some serious sheep creation going on by the permanents to get the numbers up. The star had made its appearance, shining over the stall.

Stunning Arabic calligraphy

The unhappy couple make their entrance in week 3 – oh dear did no one think to change those grimaces? The sheep gone and the ox and ass back - it was starting to look like Christmas. Finally in week four, the whole crowd was there, shepherds, sheep, ox and ass, empty manger and Mary and Joseph.

Finally on Christmas morning I saw the baby Jesus, snuggled in his manger. What I hadn’t realised before is that this is a double of the ox and ass model with the baby Jesus painted into the manger itself. This brought me to thinking of an idea for next year – permanents are you listening to my pearls here? You could make slip over faces or complete doubles of the holy couple giving them a smile after the baby has been born! That would brighten the thing up a bit.

Christmas Day - the main man makes his appearance

All in all, congratulations to this year’s group, you have created a lively story with interest throughout the advent period, thank you for that, it makes my weekly visits up the hill well worth it. I have one little request though, before you put them all to bed for next year’s team to use, please do something on the Mary and Joseph grimace issue. It may be a bit miserable giving birth in a cold stall miles away from home, but Jesus is the son of God and I really think that they should be happy to be the first people to see him.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Learning the songs

The bell tower in Taizé

Whilst browsing round the Taizé website the other day, I found a completely new section, well I think it is new, maybe I have just never fully investigated it before.

There has always been a section on how to sing the songs, with the words and sheet music, but I have never noticed that you can listen to each “voice” if you click on the relevant links.

Click on the photo to go to the Taizé website

This is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to really learn how to sing these lovely meditative songs. There are four voices in most songs and I have always sung along to what I heard as the “female” voice. But being an alto, the songs are often a tad too high for me so I generally sing an octave lower. Listening around me, I am not the only one who does that either. In fact, I have always assumed that the alto voice was just that, the soprano with an octave twist every so often, until I started to investigate a few songs on the website.

Take one of my favourites In Manus Tuas. I listened to all the voices and discovered that I have never actually heard either the alto or the tenor before, the only ones I’ve noticed during a service are the soprano and bass, with the tenor voices doing the same octave twist to the bass tune, that I had been doing with the soprano, but in the other direction. I will certainly be paying much more attention next time I am at a service and I will try and listen out for any real alto singers.

A wall sculpture at Taizé, originally on the church

As you can imagine, a whole new world of songs has opened up for me and just in time for the “season” to start as well. I will definitely be brushing up on my alto skills as that voice gives a completely new dimension to the songs and it is a pity that it is not more dominant. It won’t be long now before the place is swarming with young people and the church will be full again, I’ll be much less conscious of my own voice when there are loads of others around, so who knows I might actually sing the right part for a change!


For accommodation near Taizé click here.

Setting up camp

Dome of the church standing out against the dark sky.

With it being so cold, wet and miserable at the moment, it is very difficult to imagine that Easter is just a few weeks away, but the tell-tale signs of tents going up in Taizé mean that time is moving on and soon there will be thousands of people up on the hill again.

It is a Herculean task to get all the tents up every year and that is just one small part of the impressive organisation that goes on, in and around the Taizé complex, to house and nourish the thousands that turn up every year.

Hawthorn just coming into flower - must be spring

On Sunday we went for a walk to have a look at progress. It is a very pleasant walk from here to Taizé via the forest and then back through Ameugny and Chazelle. It takes us a leisurely 45 minutes to walk to Taizé, just perfect for a Sunday afternoon constitutional, a chance to get out, get some fresh air and enjoy our surroundings. It is always a very peaceful walk, surprisingly few people take that route.

The big church overflow tents are the first to go up

While we were in Taizé, we took the opportunity to have a wander around the old village. We bumped into several groups of Americans and Germans whilst visiting the Romanesque church. We also met quite a large number of very young French people.

It is half-term here and groups of youngsters are encouraged to spend a few days in Taizé. The brothers organise short taster sessions (weekends or mid-week stays) for groups of 14 to 16 year olds - younger than the usual crowd. Their stay is not quite as intense as for the older ones who spend a week here in the summer months and these youngsters are accompanied by a number of adult helpers.

Hundreds of huge accommodation tents
under construction

But the main action, in the community, is the putting up of tents. You can see how large the tents are and how many of them there are, much better when they aren’t covered in canvas, the rows seems to go on forever.

So, it won’t be long now and spring will be here with Easter bringing us warmer, dryer weather. At least I hope so, for all those campers.



For holiday accommodation within walking distance of Taizé click here.

Listening to Radical Nuns

Nuns on the bus

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I went to see Sister Simone give her talk “A Nun on a bus” in Taizé. The organisation of which she is a part (Network) had been pilloried by the Catholic bishops in the US, what on earth had they done that was so terrible?

Network is a group (mainly nuns) that lobby government on issues facing the poorer elements of society. For instance, those people in America who cannot afford any healthcare, those who live at the margins of society. Amongst other things, Network believe that they should have access to healthcare. Now that is shocking isn’t it? Just imagine how radical it is, in one of the richest societies in the world, to dare to suggest that everyone should benefit from such a basic need. Network promoted the signing of a letter addressed to congress supporting the Obama healthcare bill. Very radical indeed.

The nuns themselves - very radical looking!

To me what is really shocking in this story is that the Catholic bishops in America opposed the bill! How can anyone who calls themselves a Christian, but particularly the church itself, oppose helping the poorer elements of society and then accuse those who do, of going against the church’s teaching? If we are gracious we could say that the bishops were badly advised, but none-the-less, they made Nework's life a misery and Network were censured by the Vatican in 2012, something that has only recently been rescinded by Pope Francis.

This must have been an enormous emotional weight to carry and many would have shut up and hidden away, but these nuns regrouped and fought through. As Simone so eloquently said, they could not and did not fight against the injustice, because fighting against something will only reinforce it, you have to fight for a vision that you have. Instead of being intimidated by the media attention that all this row provoked, they used that attention to get their own vision seen and heard. To that end these nuns got on a bus and toured the US giving their message, hearing the stories of the people they met on the way and bringing those stories back to congress to reinforce their battle against the injustice of the poor. Their vision – care for those who are left out and to deliberately misquote a phrase I grew up with – they wanted to “mend the gap” in America, enable everyone to live with dignity in a wealthy society. Simple and clear.

Mind and mend that gap

We were invited to split into small groups to discuss way that politics, faith and the needs of people that struggle intersect, what happens to the marginalised in our countries, what should happen and what can or could we, the church and politicians do to help. We had English, German, French and Dutch people in our group and there was some lively discussion about what actually goes on and whilst we came to no conclusions, we all agreed that everyone could and should do more.

At the end of the afternoon, Simone summed up her experiences and I was impressed with the way that she and her collaborators were able to shrug their hurt, heartache and injustice off. But at the end of the day, to them, it was nothing compared to the injustice inflicted daily on those they were dedicated to helping.

How many could do that?

For more information about the work that the nuns on the bus do click here.

In search of hidden treasures

The path to the chapel with the woods on the background.

We have been known to go to some lengths to find remains of Romanesque churches and chapels but the chapel at Dracy-lès-Couches has proved to be a very difficult one to find.

We have been twice before to try and locate this little chapel, to no avail, mostly because the route to where we thought the chapel should be, was so wet that we just couldn’t go any further.

Is this a wall or just a pile of stone?

With the drought that we are now experiencing, we decided to give it one more go. To be more precise, I decided, I think Cees had given up on the idea of ever finding this one.

The last time we had been to the site, there was a sign up saying chapel 200m, where a path led into a field and a cluster of trees beyond. On this visit, the sign had been removed, but fortunately my memory for places is good enough to know which path we had to take. We walked to where we had last managed to get to which was a cross roads of foot paths in amongst the trees and dense undergrowth. We then we proceeded to walk down each of those paths. All to no avail. This chapel looked like it was going to remain on the never-to-be-found list.

A gravestone - we are on the right track.

A bit disheartened we headed back to the car through the woods when I saw something. It looked like a small wall, it could have been just a pile of stones, but a quick check on the sun’s position in the sky and I could tell this was an east-west pile of stones, perfect as a foundation row for the side of a church. Cees was not convinced and I think he wanted his picnic lunch which was long overdue, due to the amount of walking we had done. He didn’t follow me into the undergrowth.

Finally the apse is in view.

I followed the row of stones towards the east to see if they would curve off and become an apse or not. I had to divert a bit to avoid the undergrowth and then I literally stumbled over a gravestone. I was very excited and called Cees over, and we headed eastwards together, to see if there was an apse or not. Not far from the gravestone and there it was – the apse.

It pays to be persistent and have a good sense of direction. So we can now declare one little Romanesque chapel has been found and it has been marked on Cees’ map.

Citeaux – The Mother Church of the Cistercians

Senanque - a Cistercian monastery in Provence

We are very keen on church architecture, particularly Romanesque (Norman) churches and our first love has always been the Cistercian monasteries. Last year we yet again visited the beautiful trio in Provence and yet again vowed to visit the mother church, Citeaux, which is almost on our doorstep.

We have been to Citeaux more than once, the first time we failed to find anything except the shop selling the monks produce – honey, cheese etc. The second time we found the new church, which is worth a look, but not exactly old (built in 1998) and finally we discovered that you could visit some of the old buildings, but of course the day we went for a visit (last November) everything was shut and wouldn’t open for tours again until this summer.

Quote from the Abbot of Citeaux

Even when the monastery is open, organising a visit is not as simple as it may seem. You have to book in advance as numbers are restricted, so on to their website and try to make a reservation in French - it kept crashing out. Eventually I managed to make a reservation on the English website but that involved having a number of pages open at one time. For instance you have to say what time you would like to visit, but on the order form page, the times are not listed and you can’t just guess, as times are restricted as well. I won’t go on, it took me ages – enough said. I finally managed to complete the form for a guided tour and to see a film about the abbey. But nothing in the reservation system is automated, so you have to wait for an email from the abbey, to confirm that you have been added to the list for the required visit time. That confirmation arrived relatively promptly, within a day.

No good me being a monk, I'm not getting up that early

All that hassle forgotten, we went off to Citeaux, on the allotted day and at the allotted time, excited at last to be seeing the mother church. We knew there was nothing remaining of the original buildings, but we were hoping to understand a bit more about the Cistercian movement and its unique architecture. Our names were on the list, but only for the guided visit not for the film as well, which I only noticed after I had paid. After I queried this error, the nice lady on the till gave us different types of tickets, but didn’t charge us any more money, so I assume we got a bargain. At that stage I didn’t care enough to say anything.

The young girl doing the tour was incredibly nervous, but became more confident as we moved from one area to another. I noticed her eyes kept flicking towards one of the men in the tour and I suspected that she was actually being graded on her performance, hence the nervousness. I kept my eyes fixed on him and I notice the tell-tale sandals. At that point I was sure that this man was one of the brothers incognito. The fact that he kept shutting doors after us everywhere and kept an eye on the movements of all in our group made me more and more convinced that he was not a genuine tourist. So here is our mock tourist “casually” looking at the copies of illuminations displayed in the library.

Mystery tourist

So after all this wait and trouble was the visit worth it? Well yes and no. I am glad to say we have finally visited the mother church, but there wasn’t anything really to see and the tour itself was not at all scintillating, the photo exhibition in the waiting room, the “carvings” on slabs along the path leading to the start of the tour and the posters near the parking area were the best bit of the day. It was a missed opportunity in my opinion, no mention of the simpleness of the architectural style, no mention of the fact that the daughter churches were almost identical to each other, following strict rules of sobriety and layout. No real information of why the movement spread so far and wide and only a cursory mention of how they were actually a Benedictine breakaway movement.

Timetable of a monk's day

There is so much that could have been said that wasn’t and that has nothing to do with our young guide, she was genuinely following the set plan and she did a good job at that. I personally think that they should change the script to give a bit more of a background and history to the Cistercian movement, but maybe they thought that everyone who had come to visit actually knew what they were visiting and so they concentrated on descriptions of what the standing buildings are/were. In any case, I am sad to say that the tour itself was boring.

At the end of our tour, the mystery tourist admitted who he was and that this was the girl’s very first time doing a tour for real tourists, which despite the palpable nervousness at the beginning, she had completed very well indeed. Unfortunately, I won’t be recommending this visit to people who stay here.

The mystery of the wonky candles

St Claude's wonky candles

On one of our many church visits we managed to get into the church in St Jean de Vaux. Not an easy task as the thing is normally locked and the town hall is only open once in a blue moon.

This is a nice church and I am sure Cees will be able to fill you in on all the architectural high points, but I was fascinated by the candles. It had wonky candles, not just little a bit either, I mean REALLY wonky.

In the north chapel (for St Claude) I noticed that all the candles were leaning. As anyone will be able to see, they are leaning away from the window, so I thought that the sun had been shining through the window and melted one side slightly and the things had started to wonk.

Thinking about it now though, as this is the north chapel, no sun will come in through those windows, but we’ll put that aside for the moment.

Mary has them too

On to the south chapel (Mary) and interestingly enough, all the candles wonk TOWARDS not away from the window. However the candles are wonking in the same direction as St Claude’s - top towards the south. Not quite as dramatic as St Claude's, but a definite lean. The sun could come in through these windows, but would that bend the candles towards the light?

The church is full of them - what's going on?

In yet another chapel (not sure for whom) where there was no window at all, the candles all wonked the same way as well, less than Mary's and definitely less dramatic than St Claude, but the tops were happily displacing themselves towards the south. For completeness, the nearest window would probably have been to the west in this case.

Strange goings on I must say. All the candles wonk top towards the south no matter the direction of the nearest window.

Any ideas why?

Christmas nears

Cormatin decorations

Almost everywhere you go at the moment the build up to Christmas is evident. Every village and town has a Christmas market of local food goodies and handicrafts, all vying for your Christmas Euros. The supermarkets are stocking up on huge quantities of chocolate, foie gras, exotic fruit and vegetables along with the apparently unmissable shell fish and salmon.  Decorations are going up and the nativity scene in Taizé is working its way to the big day.

Rose in our front garden

But somehow it doesn’t feel at all like almost the end of the year. The weather is warmer than it should be. Last night the thermometer only dropped down to 8 degrees (Celsius for those Americans who might actually think that 8 degrees is cold!) and we would normally expect to be having frost at this time of year. I could not believe it when I saw some buds on the roses in our front garden the other day and even more so when one of them opened up this morning - in mid-December?

Our post box is filling up with cards from around the world - it is always nice to hear from friends far and near. All our cards are now in the post, there just remains the last one or two presents to sort. That’s this week’s job, along with preparing food for parties we are going to as well as making sure we are adequately stocked ourselves for the holiday season. So we are sort of on schedule.

Shepherds arrive

We took some time off from Christmas preparations to visit the Nativity scene in Taizé this afternoon and despite the donkey, it lacks something this year. It is all very static and the only change since last week is that some bland cut-out shepherds have arrived, but that is about it. I really liked the live chickens last year, they stayed all through Advent and kept the stable scene looking like a stable all week and the somewhat amateurish models of the main characters, really added some life to the whole scene.

Advent wreath

Sadly this year there are also no bible verses to contemplate and no changing scenes to mark the Christmas journey which is a real pity, as it is the only set of decorations that really mark the meaning of Christmas for miles around. Don’t get me wrong I love our village Smurfs and Snow White is always a welcome addition to the cold damp streets of Cormatin, but Christmas should be more than Walt Disney and other cartoons.

I think I should take a little contemplative pause in preparations as the pink candles of Joy are lit around the world.

My very own saint.

This is not Saint George despite the dragon

As most people probably know, every saint has his or her own domain and responsibilities. For instance good old George looks after us English as well as those from Barcelona, not to mention 20 other countries, 22 other cities, as well as of the Scouting Movement and a wide range of professions, organizations, and disease sufferers including leprosy, plague, herpes and syphilis.

But apart from being English, I don’t feel a particular link to him. In fact when I started visiting local churches, it surprised me to find out that the chap I had been identifying as St George all this time, was in fact Saint Michael.

Sain Curé

I can now admit that the only saint that I recognised correctly when we started visiting catholic churches, was Joan of Arc, the rest I have had to learn over time. For instance the weird looking priest whose head leans forward a bit like Scrooge is the Saint Curé d’Ars who is the patron saint of priests and who comes from a small town not far from here, the monk dressed in brown with a small child on his shoulder is Saint Anthony patron the saint who helps you find lost items, not to be confused with the Saint Anthony with the pig who it seems you take your pig to, to be blessed or so I was told the other day by someone showing us around his church.

In the sculptures or images, each saint is depicted in the same way every time, with the same features, so that you can easily identify him or her. I have slowly learned their names, some but not all have plaques, sometimes there are helpful old ladies in the churches to fill in the gaps in my knowledge, sometimes I can find the name by looking in the handy brochures left in the church or sometimes they take a lot of research on the internet when I get home. There are however a small cluster of saints who remain in my photo collection as still unnamed.

Who is he?

Let’s go back to my faux-pas with George to show how this works. He is usually depicted killing a dragon. Inside churches he is normally without a horse, but outside he tends to be sitting on a horse. In my ignorance I assumed that all dragon killers were George, but that is not the case, it appears that Michael killed a dragon or two as well, hence my confusion. So how do you tell the difference? If there is a horse, then it is obviously George, but without one you have to look further. I’ll put you out of your misery - Michael is the one with wings because not only is he a saint but he is an angel as well.

It certainly makes visiting churches an interesting puzzle at times. Now when I enter a church, I scan the saints for unknown ones, I photograph them for my collection and then try and find out who they are. Surprisingly even after all these years, we still run across a saint I do not know the name of. My latest unknown saint is this chappy. When I Googled “saint with watering can and shovel” I ended up with pictures of garden gnomes, which made me smile, but did not send me in the right direction as it could have done - I was stumped actually.

Google option

Then I thought to ask Cees the name of the church and all was revealed, the church was Saint Fiacre. When I looked him up it appears that he is normally pictured holding a shovel. Problem solved. So what is he responsible for? Well he is the patron saint of “those who grow vegetables and medicinal plants, and of gardening in general” (a Wikipedia quote) a saint after my own heart.

So when I am next out tending my garden, I will be thinking of my very own patron saint and I must say I prefer the idea of him looking over me than that of a dragon killer who I can’t always identify.



For information on our holiday accommodation surrounded by a lovely garden click here.

As You Like It

One of the best albums ever made - but is it suitable for mass?

I have had a pet theory for a while - that the priests round here seem to make things up as they go along during a service. Being an English Anglican - where things are well organised - you get a book when you enter the church and you just follow the instructions. Sometimes there is an either/or option and depending on the church you go to, they may take a course you are not used to, but, if you remain on the ball, you can follow things.

The church services I have been since we moved to France (excluding Taizé which is extremely well organised) you get given what could loosely be called an order-of-service sheet when you enter. This piece of paper serves to give you the songs to be sung (I refuse to call many of the offerings put before me, hymns) and a rough guide as to what might or might not happen. Then it appears that the priest does and says what the heck he likes. The songs are not necessarily sung in the order given on the sheet and as to the instructions, well forget it. The one Protestant church service I went to, I failed to spot the God link at all. Don’t get me wrong I am a great fan of Pink Floyd and Shine On You Crazy Diamond is my all time favourite, but how that fits into a religious service is slightly lost on me.

Whilst I have shared my theory with our church-going French neighbours, I have tended to get blank looks, as though it is obviously me that doesn’t get it. Well this is France and things are different, so I suppose it is just me and I certainly don’t get it. But now I know I am right and I have the proof!

We spent a few days in Provence and we visited the Basilica of St Maxime la Sainte Baume, reputedly the last resting place of Saint Mary-Magdalene. The church itself was not that spectacular and I am not a great fan of looking at caskets full of bones no matter who they reputedly belong to, but there was a notice in the church that I just have to share with you.

Proof !

Rather freely translated it welcomes visiting priests to the church to pray and to say mass if they like. However there is a condition, that they stick to the words given in “the book”. Ah ha, so there is a book, there are proper words and priests must be commonly making it up as they go along otherwise there would be no need to politely remind them to do things according to the liturgy or to not to do them at all.

So bravo to St Maxime la Sainte Baume for sticking to your guns and demanding that things are done properly. Sadly there was no mass said the day we were there so I couldn’t experience a French service along official lines. Next time we are near there, I will make sure I go on a Sunday.