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Archdiocese of Paris to resume yearlong jubilee for 1600th birthday of its patron Saint Genevieve in October
By Xavier Le Normand | France
The Archdiocese of Paris, with great pomp and ceremony, inaugurated a yearlong jubilee last January to commemorate the 1600th anniversary of the birth of its patron, Saint Genevieve.
Unfortunately, the Holy Year was "a bit battered" by the coronavirus lockdown, to quote the words of Bishop Benoist de Sinety, the archdiocese's vicar general.
But now that more and more places and activities are opening up and a semblance of normality is returning, festivities should be able to resume at the beginning of September.
Church and municipal leaders of Paris met on July 9 at City Hall to work out details of how to do that.
"All the initiatives for this anniversary have been carried out in close collaboration with the city from the beginning," said Bishop de Sinety, who attended that meeting.
He noted that the city set up "a very beautiful exhibition" on the relationship between Saint Genevieve and the people of Paris, displayed on panels hung near City Hall.
The bishop said that during the meeting officials discussed plans to hold a "large diocesan event" on October 9.
Boats will leave from different points of the Seine River that and converge at Les Invalides, in the heart of the capital.
The watercrafts will be carrying relics of Saint Genevieve and other "great Parisian saints", such as Germain and Denis.
Also on board will be "the most vulnerable people, invited through the associations that support them", the bishop noted.
Festive gathering followed by a procession
As a token of the good collaboration between the city and the archdiocese, the municipality will highlight some of the bridges under which the boats will pass to reach Les Invalides.
Bishop de Sinety said this should make it "a large gathering for all Parisians, a feast that is meant to be as fraternal and as open as possible".
A show on the life and legacy of St. Genevieve will be also presented on that day.
In the run-up to the October 9 event the archdiocese will hold "nine days of mission" during which Catholics will promote the initiative among all the residents of Paris.
Bishop de Sinety would not hazard a guess on just how many people he expects to show up. But he said we're speaking only of "several thousand".
"It's been a long time since such an initiative has taken place," he said, noting that it is taking place in the context of an ongoing health crisis.
After this festive moment, Paris residents will be invited to join a procession with Saint Genevieve's relics to the square in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Once there, they will pray the liturgy of the hours.
Bishop de Sinety said that, as important as the October 9 festivities are, they would not mark the close of the special Holy Year commemorating the patron saint of Paris.
A live show with more than 500 volunteers will be held from December 4-13 "in and around" the church of Sainte-Etienne-du-Mont where the saint's shrine is located.
"Visitors will be invited to walk through the different moments of Genevieve's life," the vicar general said.
On the final day Michel Aupetit, the Archbishop of Paris, will preside at the closing Mass of the jubilee year for this particular church.
He will then preside at a "second concluding Mass" seven days later in the Church of Sainte-Geneviève des Grandes Carrières, the only parish in Paris that bears the name of the city's patron saint.
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