“Provençal procession to ask for rain in drought-stricken Draguignan this Sunday”

They’re calling out to heaven for “ask for rain” to Heaven in Draguignan. A procession is organized this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in this drought-stricken region
. “Drought emergency. We will take up the traditions of our elders and procession to ask Heaven to think of us“, indicates on its Facebook page the parish of Draguignan. “This procession is also accompanied by prayers, novenas that we started last Monday and a few hours later, it rained in Draguignan, so it’s a good sign“, welcomes in advance the Abbé Matthieu Bévillard, vicar of the parish of Draguignan.

The faithful are therefore called to a “great Provençal procession”, in the presence of Mgr Dominique Rey, bishop of Fréjus-Toulon, and “elected”, specifies the parish. The procession will end with “a blessing of the tractors and a country buffet“, adds the parish. The church thus takes up the tradition of rogations, which consist of rituals (religious songs, intercessory prayers, processions) to promote the prosperity of the harvest.

“It already existed in the Middle Ages” according to Abbot Matthieu Bévillard

Father Matthieu Bévillard assures us that this is nothing new. “This already existed in the Middle Ages. There is also engraved in the church of Lorgues a prayer proving that such a procession had already taken place to invoke the sky to the Sainte-Roseline chapel in Les Arcs. The statue of Sainte-Roseline will also be carried during the procession this Sunday in Draguignan, like that of Saint-Hermentaire.“, he points out. Another procession, similar to this one, will also take place on Sunday, May 14 in Vidauban.