In 2019, a Nîmes Claude Depienne, put on sale on the internet imposing figures of a crib bought from an antique dealer in Nîmes twenty-five years earlier. The parish priest and the mayor of the town of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher recognized the crib that disappeared in the 90s from the Notre-Dame-des-Enfants du Cher basilica. On Christmas Eve, Claude Depienne traveled 1,080 km to bring Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, the Three Kings … to their original cradle in Châteauneuf-sur-Cher.
A Christmas miracle for Father Hervé Benoît, parish priest and William Pelletier, the mayor of Châteauneuf-sur-Cher, a town of 1,500 inhabitants located in the Cher department.
An act of good faith and a heartbreak for Nîmes Claude Depienne who brought back the characters from the crib on Christmas Eve. “On December 24, at 4 am, I took the vehicle rented the day before and I made the round trip during the day to drop off the characters from the crèche to the priest of the Notre-Dame-des basilica. -Children, in Chateauneuf-sur-Cher “, tells the tight throat Claude Depienne.
A nursery bought for 28,000 francs in 1995
In 1995, the couple, passionate about religious cribs and collector, acquired all the characters in the Nativity scene for 28,000 francs from a professional antique dealer in Nîmes. For twenty-five years, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Three Kings… have shared Christmas celebrations with the family. “We wanted to find a way to exhibit it to the public or to offer it to a museum, but it was very complicated. Moreover, we would have had to insure it, have it appraised. It was locked by an armored door in the cellar. These constraints pushed us to part with it and we put it up for sale on the internet for € 20,000, ”says Eliane Depienne.
Disappeared in the 90s
Father Benoît, the new parish priest of Notre-Dame basilica in the Cher, has been informed of this sale. The priest, determined to have the crib return to its original cradle, appealed to the mayor of the village. The two men gathered many elements to prove that the crib was indeed the one that disappeared in the 90s at the Basilica of Notre-Dame-des-Enfants. As the case could not be resolved amicably, they called in a lawyer.
In the end, Claude Depienne preferred to give up his nursery, avoid legal proceedings and make the round trip to Châteauneuf-sur-Cher on Christmas Eve.
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