In the Diocese of Sens-Auxerre, due to a shortage of priests, from September 2021, Bishop Hervé Giraud has been in charge of a parish. A situation that only exists in France… but will this situation be common any time soon?
Saint-Bris-le-Vineux is a city of thousands of inhabitants, with their vineyards, with the typical Burgundian church of the region… and with its bishop-priest. We followed Bishop Hervé Giraud, bishop of Sens-Auxerre to this small town of Yonne. From September 2021, after the parish priest's departure, he governs the parish of Saint Vincent, one of the 31 parishes of the Diocese, including Saint-Bris-le-Vineux in his diocese. An unusual situation, but perhaps multiplying in dioceses, the shortage of priests will be the most worrying. In Saint Vincent's parish, everything had to be rebuilt. The bishop relies on a team of collaborators, consisting of an African student priest, a deacon, a secretary and a parish council of about twenty people.
A temporary situation
His first idea surprised, but then the parishioners were delighted. Bishop Giraud emphasized: “The situation will not last, in a year or two we will be able to decide what to do: keep this parish about 40 kilometers long or divide it? When I got to the parish, the only thing everyone agreed on was that we needed time. Either way, we're on our way, and the joy of serving won't go away…”
For the bishop, who has never been a pastor, this experience comes “at the right time, to start from the beginning in a synodal spirit with the people of God.” And he insisted: “Beware of big ideas! As soon as we touch on concrete issues, it's no longer simple…” In Saint-Bris, members of the pastoral council began to arrive. There will be ten of them today, and the meeting begins in the room of the lent town hall, under the impassive gaze of President Macron in the portrait hanging on the wall. After some news, we started talking about the focus of today's meeting: the Synod meetings on synodality. How to train the moderators of these meetings? Should choose a theme? How to prepare for the upcoming holidays? And other questions in the daily life of parishes…
A future to write
The meeting is also an opportunity to talk about the concrete situation and the future of the parish, even of the parishes. The first to speak was Mr. Patrice Wahlen, a History enthusiast and president of the Friends of the Church Association. “The parish is a historical setting, and doing something else would be bewildering,” he said. I don't hide a certain fear… Who could imagine what happened today wouldn't last? We get asked questions by people and I don't know how to answer them, because they want a classic ministry, which is not possible anymore."
According to him, the future still has to write: “We have to move on to another story, but not necessarily sacrifice the past. We have a legacy where pearls have to be reintroduced in order not to fall into the “better before” state. We are leaving our comfort zone, we will have to be creative, because there is a reality: there are no more priests. We leave on quicksand. It's scary but it's also exciting because there's something to build on."
Abandon or not the lands?
For most parishioners, the bishop's presence is a good place to start. While this does not solve problems of distance or agreement, it has sometimes worsened in previous years. André noted: “For me, the future is where parishioners can collaborate and be respected. We are not aliens, we are integrated into society. We are not foreigners! We have a different view of social engagements because we are Christians.” So it is important to have brotherhood with those who are not close to the Church.
A challenge for everyone present that day. And also the challenge for their bishop: “If we go with everyone's pace, we don't have to go so fast. We must save the parishioners: it is everyone, the whole local population. And we must also save parishes, for the least of them. If there are no more parishes, sacramental life is only for those who are close to priests, have Masses… And I find it hard to tell me, we can leave some places. It is a vision of the Church that is not worldly: even a person at the bottom of his farm, in the fog, far from all centers, perhaps it is he who gives life to the Church's body. festival. To give up territory would be to give up divine roots.”