Dive into the heart of the Mission Congress, which brought together up to 10,000 Catholics in Paris
The Palais omnisports de Bercy resembles a truncated pyramid whose slopes are covered with grass. This Saturday, November 8, at the heart of the three days of the Mission Congress, a light rain falls on the delegates who enter. Inside, everything is vast: hall, elevators; a large passageway accommodates a few stands but few people at the moment. Everything happens in “the pit”. I enter from the top of its stands: it resonates with the applause of thousands of people listening to a workshop on supporting the newly baptized.
Take ideas
I sit next to Bernard. Pastoral assistant to the director of a Catholic school, the Ensemble scolaire Notre-Dame du Vieux-Cours in Rennes, he has already come to the Mission Congress a few times. “I draw on new ideas to energize pastoral ministry.” In 2023, he returned with the example of a biblical course for all, Catholics and non-Christians, which inspired the current biblical culture course for 6th grade students. Coming with colleagues, Bernard is sure: “We will leave full of strength and hope for our mission.”
A little further on, three young women are talking. They discover the Mission Congress. Regula and Anna are from Switzerland, young professionals involved in the secular institute Served della Sofferenza ; Marthe was commissioned by her parish, Notre-Dame des Otages in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, to listen to the workshop on the newly baptized. Regula is surprised: “Why are there many catechumens in France? There is not the same phenomenon in Switzerland.” Marthe has made a conviction: “We realize that each member of the parish is responsible for welcoming people.” Communities open to the possible arrival of new members, attentive to welcoming, where attention to people is cultivated: this is undoubtedly the beginning of an answer to Regula’s question. Anna keeps this idea to implement it in her parish.
“Listen to what the Spirit says to our Church”
Back in the corridor during a break, I meet Father Olivier, Isabelle and Dominique, from the diocese of Belfort-Montbéliard.
The prayer of brothers and sisters
Vests of different colors brighten up the halls and passageways. I arrest two people wearing white vests with “Prayers” written on them. David and Solange take the time to present their mission to me. “We are available to delegates who would like us to pray with them or for them,” David explains to me. “We hear from people who feel discouraged in their mission; others who are seeking their commitment in the Church,” adds Solange. Originally from Toulouse, they themselves benefited from the Mission Congress: they followed online training in this type of prayer provided by the Mission Center created by the diocese of Paris after the first Mission Congress. A few years of practice in their parish and here they are in Paris this year!
Listen and question abuse in the Church
Off to the side, a “Testimonial Space” catches my eye: rooms lit with subdued light look like living rooms. There I meet Béatrix, Isabelle de Moffarts and Jérôme Guillement, interviewed by The Pilgrim for the CIASE anniversary.
The market for good ideas
In the basements of Bercy, we crowd between various stands. Here is a selection based on meetings.
Lise-Marie created this structure to support sponsorship projects: “more than 300!”, she rejoices. The daughter of a farmer, she lives in Loir-et-Cher in the parish of Montoire. Particularly in rural areas, she is convinced that “the patronages are the court in front of the church”: “we offer real services to parents who no longer put their children in school because they themselves have not been catechized. And in the bath of the Christian atmosphere of the patronage, we have requests for baptism.” In the countryside, the Church often has premises but it is necessary to choose the location carefully, organize the collection of children and work with the Catholic schools in the area, she explains.
The Mission Center offers training to better assume its mission in the Church as well as to develop a Christian community. One of its facilitators presents them to us.
Born a year and a half ago, this association aims to not leave people who are victims of abuse alone in the Church. Nolwenn, a volunteer, explains to me that she brings together victims and other people who, following the CIASE report, felt called to stand with them. At the Mission Congress, “we are here because it is a great moment of meeting a certain face of the Church. We want to make visible the fact that abuse still exists.” “People came to see us because they were suffering. We want to offer them a place to listen and an association that will help and support them.”
The world of video games has Christian creators: several have come together in the “Jesus Gaming” collective. I watch over his shoulder as a young man progresses in a game that puts him in the shoes of a disciple of Jesus. His current mission: to find Mary by exploring different places and meeting characters from the world of the Gospels.
Shared accommodation between young people at the start of their professional lives, some of whom have a cognitive disability: the first two, supported by Handiphil, will open within a few weeks in Paris. Serge Froissart, one of the founders, explains that “supportive owners agree to rent to us below the market price, which allows young people with disabilities with modest incomes to pay their share of the rent.” Everyone is thus equal in shared accommodation.
A pilgrimage of young people through Paris
On the evening of Saturday, November 8, Bercy is preparing to welcome thousands of young people who converge from four Parisian churches towards Notre-Dame de Paris, then walk along the Seine to reach the Palais omnisports. When I arrive at Notre-Dame de Paris, the atmosphere is joyful and fervent!
I set off in the darkness, in the middle of the singing procession which joins the Seine. It’s Jean that I meet first. Parisian, student, he came with the chaplaincy of the Sorbonne. This is his first participation in the Mission Congress. “We are with Christ,” he tells me. “It’s beautiful to make a pilgrimage to Paris.”
In his group, which left the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church in the Latin Quarter, “there were not only young people: people of all ages and families walked with us”. As they passed, people were surprised, “but there was no fear. They were smiling.” John rejoices in thus giving “another image of the Church”.
One with her orange Cub Scout shirt, the other with her navy blue sweater and waves: here is Cynthia, leader of the Scouts and Guides of France in Paris, and Jeanne-Marie, leader of the Unitary Scouts of France in Courbevoie. They got to know each other at the Saint-Gervais church, where the various movements of French Catholic scouting started.
“We had interscout time in the church,” Jeanne-Marie tells me. After a presentation of each movement, they found themselves in a small sharing group: How do I live out my mission with my young people? What is the place of faith in my movement? How do I make my life coherent as a Scout and as a Christian?
Big questions that started a great discussion that they continue as night falls, walking towards Bercy.
Along the quay of the Seine, a barge goes up the river accompanying our procession: a group sings songs of praise which we repeat. I meet Célia, who comes from Choisy-le-Roi, and Kétia, from Antony. They walked from Saint-Eustache Church to Notre-Dame with the group of young Catholics from the suburbs.
“People are not ashamed of being Christians; they are good at it!” comments Kétia, who discovers the Mission Congress.
Along their route, the welcome was kind, and they also noted that there were “all ages” in their procession. “It’s like during the procession of August 15 in Paris,” comments Célia. “It’s the entire Church mixed together.” Kétia expects momentum from this Mission Congress: “I want to relight the candle. It’s been a while since I went to mass and left evening prayer, just a little sign of the cross before going to bed. I need to hear that God loves us. My goal is to keep the candle of my faith lit.”
In the darkness, songs follow one another: recitation of the Rosary, songs of praise, beautiful polyphonies; their variety expresses the diverse ecclesial sensibilities of young people. I meet Marguerite Andrieux. Having left Saint-Sulpice with the group accompanied by Notre-Dame de Chrétienté, organizer of the Chartres Pilgrimage, she discovered the Mission Congress: “I am waiting to have the keys to the mission.”
She has already learned some from Mgr Rey’s exhortation in the Saint-Sulpice church. Along the way, she noticed that “the songs from before that we sang brought back memories for people.”
Arriving at Notre-Dame, Marguerite was touched by the gathering of the various processions on the square: “There was a great moment of silence and prayer.” She concludes: “It’s a beautiful representation of the Church. I really felt that I was participating in the mission of the whole Church which is there. We are sent on behalf of everyone.”
