The Lyon Provincial Council Mgr. Michel Cartateguy, bishop emeritus of the archdiocese of Niamey-Niger, on Sunday 2nd of October officially installed the new SMA pastoral team at St. Michael parish at Lauragais in Castelnaudary. The event that would merit a canon of confetti took place in the Eucharistic celebration presided by Mgr. Michel and concelebrated by Fr. Thibault Renaudy, the parish priest coordinator, Fr. Maria Joseph Paramanadham, parish priest in solidum, and Fr. Daniel Cardot the person in charge of the southern zone of the Lyon province.
During his welcome speech, Fr. Thibault said, "we are happy to welcome the SMA family in this parish that has a historical importance to them." Originally from Minervois Fr. Thibault who comes from a family of wine growers in Azille and is much appreciated for his spiritual and human qualities, especially with young people, while addressing himself to the assembly added that "you will be seeing more of the SMA fathers around". Passionate about football, Fr. Thibault was ordained to the priesthood in 2006.
Fr. Maria expressed his joy to be part of the pilot team for the new mission. "I continue to discover the parish, and I am aware that this project is not just important for me as a person neither is it just important for the province of Lyon but for the entire SMA family," he said.
Fr. Maria from the SMA Indian Province was ordained to the priesthood on the 28th of April 2009 and arrived in Castelnaudary on the 29th of July 2022. He is confident that "the SMA presence in Castelnaudary today gives a profound sense to the life of the founder by making him known through various activities and the SMA charism in collaboration with the local church."
Fr. Eleuthère Ouensavi from the republic of Bénin in West Africa was appointed to the Province of Lyon -France to pursue his doctorate studies in Liturgy and at the same time give a helping hand to the pastoral community of St. Michael parish in the capital of cassoulet.
Fr. Ouensavi who began his studies at the Catholic University of Toulouse describes his first impressions as "a backlash". He is convinced that the mission here is still "relevant and compatible with the SMA charism." The liturgical theology doctorate student that was ordained a priest on the 5th of July 2014, concluded that "at one point we received, and at some point, we too are obliged to give".
He brings with him a wealth of missionary experience in the vanguard pilot team. Fr. Antoine Chenu 83, served in West Africa for 44 years, and as a precursor of the SMA pastoral team in Castelnaudary "I am happy to be part of this team even if I am old", he said.
Ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Niamey on the 24th of September 1980, Fr. Chenu is an associate and honorary member of the Society of African Missions and his presence will strike a balance between the old and the new thus bringing different viewpoints to the table, helping to increase innovation and creative problem-solving in the pastoral situation of the local church.
The former Christian brother who has never experienced headache has been serving at St. Michael parish in Castelnaudry for the last three years.
In the 2016 provincial Assembly of Lyon, it was suggested that a community of SMA should be installed at the historical place where the founder of the Society of African Missions Bishop Melchior de Marion Brésiliac had lived. According to Mgr. Michel, "the idea was well received by the members of the Provincial Assembly." Other provinces also welcomed the initiative with a lot of joy.
The new provincial council that had just been elected in that assembly "tasked itself with the midwifery work between the SMA and bishop Alain Planet, of the Diocese of Carcassonne and Narbonne who welcomed the idea favorably," said the provincial Councilor.
The idea of going to Castelnaudary is also backed up by the fact that the process of canonization of the SMA founder had begun and, in the event, whereby the church would recognize his exemplary way of life through his canonization, "it would be a great witness for the local church of St. Michael where he was born, raised and exercised his ministry," said the former Archbishop of Niamey. "It would be easy to do some activities to make him, his works, and his vision of mission known," he added. That is why a team has been put in place, not just for that reason, "but to be at the service of the local church in the way that the SMA founder had done," he concluded. Mgr. Michel on behalf of the Provincial council and indeed on behalf of the entire SMA family is happy to witness the installation of the community that has just been installed hoping it will bear abundant fruits.
Elevated to the rank of a collegiate church on February 13, 1318, when the bishopric of Saint-Papoul was created by Pope John XXII to limit the claims of the bishop of Toulouse, the church of St. Michel was partially destroyed during the passage of the Black Prince in 1355. The bell tower of the collegiate church is equipped with a carillon of 35 bells, one of the most important in France. The building has been strongly modified for several centuries to appear today as a great building of Gothic style with nine side chapels and an imposing pyramidal spire whose top reaches 50 meters. The construction of this structure, which took place between 1240 and 1270, was conceived as a Romanesque fortress temple.
By Dominic Wabwireh,SMA
