Franciscan afterwork for young people in search of faith and conviviality

It is a henhouse without hens or roosters which opens every third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m., at the Saint-François convent in Paris. The evening, which brings together around twenty young people, begins in the chapel with a time of prayer accompanied on the guitar by one of the seventeen brothers.

It continues with a presentation by a guest or a Franciscan on a current subject, in winter in one of the rooms of the convent, on sunny days in the open air. At the bottom of the large garden, a room decorated in a tavern style, called The henhousehas been installed. Around a drink, a few aperitif biscuits and homemade pastries brought by everyone, the feast continues in good humor beyond 9 p.m.

Deepen your faith

“At the Poulailler, we meet to peck, to nourish our faith and our stomach,” smiles Brother Alejandro, responsible for youth ministry in the French-speaking Franciscan province of France-Belgium, and facilitator of these meetings. “The idea came in 2020: to respond to their concern about environmental degradation, we decided to read the encyclical with students and young professionals Laudato si’ dedicated to ecology, published by Pope Francis in 2015. Then we continued to pray in simplicity with these young people who want to deepen their faith,” recalls this dynamic priest born in Colombia forty years ago.

A welcome without judgment

That evening, to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Song of the Creatures by Saint Francis of Assisi, this magnificent poem, which resonates like an ode to nature, is sung in the chapel. Before being commented on in Le Poulailler by Brother Frédéric-Marie: “In this text, it is not a question of animals but of “brother sun”, “sister moon”, “sister water” or even “brother fire”, so many elements which slip through our fingers, which no one can possess. This poem does not present the world as a set of resources to be exploited but as a generous gift.

Since she discovered Le poulailler on Instagram more than a year ago, Danya, 33, has become a regular: “Here, we are welcomed without judgment and in fraternity.” Entrepreneur in sustainable development, Delphine, 38, confides: “I find here a time of prayer and greenery in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the week.” Baudouin, 28, adds: “At the Poulailler, the discussions are deep. The meetings are not mundane, they go straight to the heart.”