We’ve been waiting for it. We’ve wanted it ever since we ordered it from a goldsmith: Monsieur Antoine Chevillard 1. That was at the end of January 2024. We asked him to make a glorious cross for the chapel on the Ile Blanche, a cross that would affirm the strength of Life over death.
In the spring, after much prayer about the project, Mr Chevillard sent us some sketches that we liked: sketches of the cross as well as a new seat for the celebrant and his acolytes, and a new ambo. We trusted him, but above all we were very anxious to see the cross. We would have liked it to be in place for the Council of the Congregation last August, but it wasn’t ready. The artist and the material needed time.
On Monday 2 December, Mr Chevillard came to install the cross and the new furniture. And then, surprise, the cross was green! A slender cross, sober and beautiful, in patinated bronze, with a glimpse of a radiant sun-hostility. The silhouette of Jesus can be seen on the cross, with his side open. A green cross symbolising the Tree of Life, as in the Middle Ages,’ said the Vicar General.
Ever since it took its place in the chapel 2, our cross has been the talk of the town. Believers and non-believers alike admire it. It touches hearts and leaves no one indifferent.
You will be able to see for yourself when you come to see it, and when it’s better lit. But we couldn’t wait to show it to you…
The Ile Blanche community. Published on 12 December 2024
1 He lives in Angers, but the Chéret company where he works is based in Paris.
2 The first Sunday mass in the presence of the new cross took place on 8 December 2024 in the Ile Blanche chapel. A nod to the ESF and… to Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, which reopened for worship on the same day, 5 years after it burnt down.
