They will leave without being asked. In Nantes, nuns from the Benedictine Apostolic Fraternity announced their departure from the city center due to insecurity. These women had been welcomed at the Sainte-Croix de Nantes church for more than eight years with the aim of bringing this place of prayer to life. However, they now feel that they can no longer accomplish their mission serenely.
In the Bouffay district, Sister Marie-Anne recounts being regularly confronted with residents under the influence of alcohol or drugs. These inopportune encounters prevent them from feeling safe again in their living area. “I found myself alone with him in the church when closing time, it almost came to blows,” she recalls after her bad experience with a young neighborhood boy who had been drinking. Unfortunately, this kind of event is not isolated, and “over time, it creates wear and tear”, she laments in the face of “an atmosphere not conducive to prayer“.
These nuns are not taken as targets as such, but they undergo like the other Nantes residents of the district what she considers to be an upsurge in violence. Fortunately for them, street mediators, the town hall, the police and the Samu came to their aid. However, the situation is far from improving and they believe they have reached the end of the efforts they could provide. “I do not think that an increase in the police will solve the problem”, believes however Marie-Anne. According to her, it is up to the state to act now to restore calm.
In the meantime, to defend themselves, the nuns have even taken self-defense lessons. They learned simple gestures with professionals. Since then, they have been able to step back, protect themselves and ask for help in difficult situations. “We had to implement this procedure often”, notes Marie-Anne, but she considers that it was “beneficial” for them. Despite this, the sisters will leave Nantes on July 1 to join Reims and resume their mission at the monastery of the Benedictine sisters of Saint Thierry.
