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Father Pierre Hoan smiles after blessing the fields of the sixteen bell towers of his parish, Moissac, by plane, departing from Gandalou aerodrome, in Castelsarrasin, southern France, on May 21, 2022.
Photo : Valentín Chapuis/AFP
Dressed in his white alb, the parish priest of Moissac, in southwestern France, flies over the He traveled to the area in a small plane to bless the fields and the cattle of the farmers, a tradition that practically disappeared.
“I arrived I went to Moissac in 2016, but it wasn’t until last year that some peasants told me about the rogation, a tradition I was completely unaware of,” priest Pierre Hoan, a 43-year-old Vietnamese priest, told AFP. ;os.
The first rogatives –prayers and supplications– date back in France to the 5th century and took the form of processions aimed mainly at obtaining good harvests, recalls the diocese of Montauban in a press release.
“Today, the parishes where they are celebrated are rare,” he specifies.
Concerned about the situation of the farmers, who have been seriously affected for months by the frosts and high temperatures Father Hoan agreed. the challenge of flying over the 16 bell towers of his parish to bless the fields and the cattle a few days before the Christian feast of the Ascension.
“What is important is not the plane itself, but the fact that traditions are remembered and revived,” says the priest, a former rice farmer in Vietnam.
In front of the bell tower of Saint -Avit, a rural area of Moissac, Annie Laflorentie, a retired farmer, looks up at the sky.
Together with about 15 people, they created a large cross out of pallets covered in white cloth, on which They placed roses of all colors, like this. such as wheat, cherries, apples, and asparagus. They also posted a photo of some cows.
“I believe in it”
when it happened The little red and white two-seater plane came out with the priest sprinkling holy water, the bells began to ring and the song was sung. a prayer.
“The priest is praying. in a plane, what is in keeping with the times. With 16 bell towers, I don’t see how I could have done it on foot,” smiles Mrs. Laflorentie, 69.
“When I was a child, the prayers were celebrated first thing in the morning and the peasants prepared holy water, a cross, field flowers and wheat for the priest to pass,” she remembers wistfully.
“I don’t know this tradition, it was my first prayer”, says Brigitte Caulet, a 59-year-old rancher.
“Personally, it gives me courage. Of course I believe in it and I wish it could take place every year”, he continued.
At the controls of the little Piper plane, Léo Carussi, a gardener passionate about aeronautics, he confesses that he accepted He immediately participated in this experiment when the farmers contacted him.
“There are people who believe in it, as well. why? not! In addition, it allows us to preserve an old tradition and I think that is good”, adds the pilot, who does not rule out the possibility of participating again next year.