French Catholicism -- Rebounding?

Probably about 30 years ago, while browsing in a used book store, I picked up a copy of a book published by Maisie Ward (of the famous marital and publishing partnership, Sheed and Ward) entitled, France Pagan? I believe it was written around 1940 by a French priest active in the worker-priest movement of that time. I don't know what happened to my copy, so I can't provide many details. I suspect I lent it to someone and then both lender and lendee forgot about it. Nevertheless, I do recall the author estimating that less than 10% of French workers at the time were practicing Catholics. The rest were, in essence, pagan -- fitting products of the French Revolution.

I've been to France only a few times, and then only for relatively brief visits; but on each visit I was struck by the lack of religious faith among the people I met. One of my bad habits when I travel is to somehow inject the subject of religion into every conversation that lasts longer than three minutes. The French would either scoff or raise an skeptical eyebrow or just smile knowingly, amazed that a seemingly intelligent person could still take religion seriously. I also noticed that, were it not for the tourists, the churches would be almost empty. I remember attending Mass at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur in Paris on a beautiful Sunday morning in May 1985 and being surprised by an almost empty church. Perhaps 100 people joined me for Mass that morning and I suspect most were tourists and not Parisians. And yet when I left the church after Mass I found myself engulfed by probably several thousand locals just hanging out on the steps enjoying the view of the Parisian skyline or strolling around the grounds.It was all very depressing and brought to mind that Maisie Ward book.

And then back in January I posted something decrying the destruction of old churches in France -- Pagan Europe -- in which I also mentioned Ward's book. But then today I came across an article that gives me hope. It seems the French Church is following the Holy Father's lead and using popular media outlets to attract young men to the priesthood. One element of this more aggressive approach is the use of Facebook. I could give you the gist of the story, but I think it's best read in its entirety. Here's the link to, surprisingly, an AP story: French church recruits young priests via Facebook. It's well worth a read. Perhaps the Spirit has decided that the Internet can also be used for good. It's a nice story.

Pray for vocations...

Pagan Europe?

France has always been at the point of dissolution. She has found the only method of immortality. She dies daily. - G. K. Chesterton

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Many years ago I read a book by Maisie Ward entitled, France Pagan? As I recall -- and this is only a vague recollection because it seems I gave the book away -- Ward told the story of a French priest involved in the worker-priest movement of the 1940s and highlighted the absence of religious faith among the French people. I believe the book was written during the war. 

What brought Ward's book and its prescient title to mind was an online New York Times' article about the physical decay and, in some instances, the demolition of many old Catholic churches in present day France. It seems that in some areas the faithful are so few that maintaining the older, large churches makes little practical sense. Additionally, many of these older churches need extensive renovations and the money simply isn't there. And because it usually costs much more to renovate an older church than to build a new and much smaller church, the cities and towns are opting to do the latter. (As a result of anti-Catholic legislation that dates to the early 20th century, French churches are owned by the government.)

According to the article France has over 90,000 church buildings, and 17,000 of these are protected by the government because of their architectural or historical value. Many of these "protected" churches, however, are in very poor condition due to a lack of funding which in turn is apparently driven by a lack of interest. Béatrice de Andia, president of France's Religious Heritage Observatory, stated that "The Church may be eternal, but not the churches...In the past, these buildings were sacred, but today there is no sense of the sacred."

Church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, 1844-1864, in Gesté -- schedule to be demolished

All of this has led to the demolition of many old churches in recent years. Most have been replaced by architectural monstrosities that one would hardly recognize as churches. Alain Durand, a 50-year-old mason and metalworker who is fighting to preserve his local church from demolition (see photo above), described a newly constructed neighboring church in less than flattering terms: “It’s for entertainment, it’s a music hall,” he said dismissively. “You could put a sign on it saying, ‘Groceries.’ ”

This is all, of  course, simply more proof that Europe is no longer Christian in any sense of the word. Faith is the first to go; and then morality, for without the foundation of faith, rightness and wrongness become mere relativistic terms. And finally the traditions are neglected and forgotten. As the faithless sever the connections to their Christian roots, they lose any sense that there is something worth preserving in the remains of the past.

In her book, written almost 70 years ago, Maisie Ward asked the question, "Is France pagan?" I think, today, the answer to her question is sadly apparent. 

Click here to read the full NYT article: Rising Price of Faith in France's Shrinking Parishes

And here's another related story: The Destruction of France's Churches