Father Peio Bordagaray’s Christmas

Peio Bordagaray is preparing to spend Christmas alone. Because of the Covid-19, he will not be able, as was the case in recent years, to welcome up to a thousand faithful for the mass he celebrates during Christmas evening.

The man of the church, fatalist, is not moved by it more than that. “We’ll wait until next year,” he said with a smile. We can bet that if no virus gets in the way, there will be an even larger crowd in Sainte-Marie for the 2021 Christmas mass. It will be the last for Peio Bordagaray who will then retire.

Until then, he intends to maintain, as long as necessary, the link with his parishioners.

Each week, he writes the parish sheet “Zaccariot”, named after the one who replaced Judas Iscariot with Jesus. “It’s available in the church, which is open daily from 7:30 am to 7:00 pm and I address it by Internet to 400 subscribers. I even have a reader in Houston, TX.”

His trained eye allows him to see that, even during the period of confinement, many people come to Sainte-Marie, the only building in Anglet to be classified as a historical monument. “I can see it by the number of candles that are lit, confides Peio Bordagaray. I place a liturgy sheet at the disposal of visitors at the back of the church.”

He admits having hesitated before deciding not to have a celebration on Christmas Eve. “We discussed it in the parish council. We played the card of caution. I did not see myself being the gendarme that evening, to limit attendance and enforce the rules of distancing, explaining to several hundred people that they can’t come. “

On the other hand, he will celebrate two masses on the morning of Monday, December 25, at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

In cell

Memories of Christmas, Peio Bordagaray has many. Those of his childhood in Irissarry, of course. “It was in the 50’s and 60’s. We spent simple and popular Christmases. Mass was really at midnight and the church was full. “

He also remembers Christmas evenings, when he was studying at the episcopal master’s degree in Bayonne. “We could only go home on Christmas Eve.”

The Christmas night of his year of military service also remains a vivid memory. “I was on call that evening. We ended the night by going to sleep in the cells of the guard post. Fortunately, the doors were not closed.” From his years in Bayonne, as spokesperson for the bishopric, he also remembers the Christmas evenings at the multipurpose hall of the Saint-Amand college, where with the volunteers of the Secours Catholique, he welcomed the homeless for a meal. “They told us that we had to be finished at 22 h 30 because afterwards they had work, smiles Father Bordagaray. Today, it is not the same atmosphere any more and the associations took over with the homeless. They are very active. “

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He had left, with some difficulty, the parish of Ustaritz, where he had officiated for ten years and of which he retains strong memories. But since then, he has been fully involved in the parish of Sainte-Marie church, devolved to Louis Édouard Cestac, the Bayonne religious at the origin of the creation of the congregation of the Servants of Mary. “I have around me a very fraternal and friendly community. I know that on Christmas Eve, I will not miss texts and emails.”

At the start of the school year, he hopes that catechism can resume normally and that the activity of the church will return to its usual rhythm. “What I feel as really strange during this period of confinement is the silence around the parish hall where there is no longer any activity. As in the small room next door, called Las Vegas, because of retirees come and play scrabble and cards. “

One year from retirement, Peio Bordagaray still regrets not having been able to organize a Christmas Eve with the children. He also thinks of the communions and confirmations which could not take place. “We will postpone them until next year. But there should be 40 communicants in 2020 and I do not yet know how many there should be in 2021.”

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