GESTE, France (AP) — Mayor Jean-Pierre Leger was married and baptized his children at Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens church in this village in western France. Not without sadness, he is now planning to bulldoze the 19th century building.
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(Photo: AP Images / David Vincent, File)A view of the 19th century church of Geste, in the Anjou region, on Nov.5, 2007. The church was shuttered and deemed a safety hazard, and a demolition permit was delivered several weeks ago. France is struggling to keep its tens of thousands of churches in good repair _ especially the chapels in the countryside, many of which host Mass for their dwindling parishioners only once every few weeks.
The dilemma of what to do with churches that have fallen out of favor — and into disrepair — is facing towns and villages across France and other European countries. Some communities have dynamited churches deemed too expensive to maintain. Others have taken a less radical approach, selling them as housing.
In traditionally Roman Catholic France, fewer than 5 percent of the nation's 62 million people attend Mass every week, down from 27 percent a half-century ago, according to a survey of more than 29,000 people published by the Ifop polling agency in 2006.
Leger says the decision to bulldoze most of Geste's church was tough but logical. For $2.13 million — less than half the cost of a restoration — the 2,400 villagers will get a new church built around the bell tower of the existing structure, which will be preserved along with the crypt.
The crumbling current church "has 1,000 seats. It's five times too big for the congregation that usually comes," said the mayor. "People prefer a more modern church, that's more cheerful and warm, instead of a huge one where they get lost in all the space."
Jewels of religious architecture, like Notre Dame de Paris, have funding from the national government. Not so, however, for tens of thousands of lesser churches, especially rural chapels, many of which host Mass for their dwindling parishioners only once every few weeks. The ages of such churches vary, though many are old by American standards.
Burdened by debt and struggling to revive the economy, the French government can't help much. Culture Minister Christine Albanel has floated some unusual fundraising ideas for preserving significant monuments, including churches; one idea is a game from the national lottery service, another a tax of more than $3 for guests at luxury hotels.
The government and the Catholic Church are to discuss what to do at a June conference. Under a quirk of French law that governs the separation of church and state, most churches are owned by the towns where they are located. That means they have to pay for all repairs if structures are not classed as historic monuments and thus eligible for state funds.
The church has made religious architecture a priority, while acknowledging it isn't always feasible to keep churches standing.
"We understand the reaction in some towns — if you have to choose between building a new elementary school or replacing the roof for the church, that can be a problem," said the Rev. Norbert Hennique, director of sacred art for France's Catholic authorities.
France has so many parish churches that neither Catholic nor government authorities have an accurate count. The Culture Ministry says 60,000 is its best guess.
It's unclear exactly how many are nearing ruin. A Culture Ministry report in January said 41 percent of the most significant monuments — churches and other buildings — are in poor shape or endangered, compared with 32 percent five years ago. That doesn't take into account ordinary, but still lovely, village churches.
"When you lose a town's church, you somehow lose the entire character of the town," said Alain Guinberteau, an architecture fan compiling an online inventory of France's steeples. Continue >>
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The association which défends the church of Gesté is;
Association mémoire vivante du patrimoine gestois
1 rue du Centre
49600 Gesté France
E-mail; gestois@hotmail.fr
internet: http://www.eglisedegeste.fr
I once spent several months driving thru Mexico. In every town the most interesting building was the church which was usually many centuries old. I'm not religious but I enjoyed seeing these ancient churches with their ancient statues.
For believers, they must have a place of worship and the center of worship should be
the risen saviour. On the other hand, when the Church building becomes the object of
worship, then God is displaced. So, it is natural that these buildings will be turned as
old building construction, and finally will be demolished. The body of Jesus Christ is
vibrant and it is going to grow every day, and the buildings of their worship will overflow.
Yes, praise God that truly the church is an assembly of redeemed people not a building. It is only a matter of time before this same trend hits our shores.
"Praise God that the real 'church' is actually Christians and not 'buildings' made by man."
Amen!
My opinion is if 'church' buildings can no longer function as they should i.e. a place where Christian believers can fellowship, worship together, hear the Word preached, take communion and baptisms etc, due to safetly or practical reasons then they should be knocked down and replaced with a modern building to worship the LORD in. From my experience on living in the Uk we are far too protective of old church buildings and have an, if I may be blunt, idolic hold onto the past and fail to live for the present. What annoys me is most people who object to knocking down old churches aren't actually believers themselves. There are thousands of church buildings already over protected by law which needs to change fast. Praise God that the real 'church' is actually Christians and not 'buildings' made by man.