On April 12, the Sainte-Madeleine church in Angers (Maine-et-Loire) was savagely vandalized”lamented the same day the mayor of the city, Jean-Marc Verchère (Modem), specifying that “several statues were decapitated, crosses broken and the central high altar ransacked”.
A 50-year-old man, suspected of these facts, as well as of having committed damage on March 30 in the church of Trélazé, has since been arrested and ” is subject to compulsory hospitalization due to psychiatric disorders according to the public prosecutor of Angers. The latter specifies in a press release of April 18 that the respondent ” will be heard on these facts as soon as his medical treatment ends.
« These acts of vandalism on a church do not only affect stones and objects: it is our Christian faith that is affected, said Bishop Emmanuel Delmas, Bishop of Angers, in a statement. Our pain is deep. I will meet the faithful of the parish on Sunday April 23 during a mass of reparation that I will preside at the Sainte-Madeleine basilica.. »
A ceremony that takes place at the initiative of the bishop
This mass of reparation is a ceremony provided for by the code of canon law when “ the sacred places are profaned by seriously injurious actions which are committed there to the scandal of the faithful and which, in the judgment of the ordinary of the place, are so serious and contrary to the sanctity of the place that it is not permitted to go there. celebrate worship as long as the injury has not been repaired by the penitential rite provided for by the liturgical books (can 1211). It is therefore at the initiative of the local bishop that this ceremony is held. It will be the first celebrated in the building since it was the target of acts of vandalism.
The penitential rite which takes place during a celebration of reparation is detailed in the ceremonial of the bishops, even if the bishop can delegate to another priest the presidency of this ceremony. It is not necessarily a Mass (with Eucharistic consecration), however the celebration of the Eucharist is recommended.
A reminder of the dedication ritual of churches
The altar must be stripped of its candles. The ceremony begins with a procession of the faithful and celebrants, or with an entry of the celebrants from the sacristy to the choir. The celebrant sprinkles the altar with holy water to purify it. He can also sprinkle the walls of the church, as well as the people, in memory of baptism and as a sign of penance. This recalls the dedication ritual of churches, which largely refers to baptism by which the Christian is sanctified. The Liturgy of the Word follows, during which readings chosen for the occasion are read.
If this ceremony of reparation takes place during a mass, the altar is then covered again, and illuminated by candles, before the celebration of the Eucharist. Finally, the nave is illuminated “as for the holidays”.
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