In Lyon, mayors and priests work to preserve religious heritage –

If they had been in Lyon on October 9, Don Camillo and Peppone would not have believed their eyes. For one day, the amphitheater of the regional hotel welcomed priests in Roman collars, parishioners and municipal representatives, to reflect together on the preservation of the municipal religious heritage, which they commonly manage. This is the fifth edition of this “mayor-priest” day, born in 2016 at the initiative of the diocese: “we realized that town halls and parishes did not know all the issues of the law of separation of Church and State, which could lead to frictions which were however easily avoidable” explains Véronique Bouscayrol, Bursar of the diocese of Lyon.

Shared management

In fact, since the famous law of 1905, which celebrates its 120th anniversary this year, the management of some 42,000 churches in French territory constitutes a legal exception, sometimes a real headache for municipalities and parishes when restoration or security work is announced. The churches built before this law, i.e. the majority of religious buildings, belong to the municipalities, which however do not have the use of the places. The assignee, in this case the priest, is not the owner. A relationship that resembles the owner-tenant relationship, without being the exact equivalent. “We talk about categories sui generisto qualify this unique situation” explains Anne-Violaine Hardel, director of the legal service of the Conference of Bishops of France, to the assembly.

In law, it is therefore the public authorities which can finance maintenance work, without however having the obligation to do so. “Hence the need for dialogue and concerted approaches between the parties concerned” adds Véronique Bouscayrol. A priest then intervenes: a water manager wants to install an antenna in his bell tower, to remotely read the meters in the sector, of which the mayor simply informed him. “According to case law, your agreement is required,” explains Anne-Violaine Hardel. A mayor of a rural town testifies to the request of administrators to carry out secular funerals in the church. “It is up to the priest to make the decision” replies Mgr Loïc Lagadec, auxiliary bishop of the diocese, and adds “we see that when people talk to each other, things go well. We train our priests, particularly foreign priests, to understand the law, the spirit of the law, and to enter into contact with town halls.”

Security: a pioneering diocese

With the media coverage of malicious acts against churches, and the scarcity of volunteers available to ensure a presence there, the bell towers spend more and more time closed, “which is all the more unfortunate since meditation in church outside worship hours is widespread, not only among practitioners” regrets Mgr Olivier de Germay, Archbishop of Lyon. A comment shared by sub-prefect Antoine Guérin, for whom “an open church is a sign of quality”. Only 39% of churches are open daily (according to the survey carried out for the States General of Heritage in 2023-2024), and here again, it is up to the municipality to ensure the security of the premises. The diocese of Lyon has been a pioneer: for four years, with the strong request of the prefecture, a Safety and Security manager has been training priests and volunteers in good practices, and recording these malicious acts. 37 were counted in 2024, including 3 that could be qualified as anti-Christian, and 22 in 2025, none corresponding to this category. The solutions are sometimes very simple: chains or fixings to obstruct the furniture, security cameras, or even magnetic doors, as installed by a priest present for the day. The prefecture can finance up to 80% of the cost of the work, a relief for mayors.

Once again, it is the fluidity of exchanges and the voluntary network which remain the best guarantors of this security. Father Philémon Mutware, parish priest of Saint-Just en Chevalet, testifies to this: after discussion with the mayor, it is now a volunteer, an atheist, who ensures the opening of the church every day.