“The church is in Rome, but it is also here”

Friday evening, in a small parish hall in Blanc-Mesnil, about ten kilometers north of Paris.

A few dozen faithful listen, attentive, the words of Bishop Étienne Guillet, who came to prepare them for their confirmation ceremony which will be held later this month.

There are twice more baptized from 18 to 25 this year that last year, when we were already increasingnotes Monsignor Guillet, who represents the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, the youngest in mainland France, where 45 % of the population is under the age of 30.

I have always been discreet about itrecognizes Camille, 30, formerly an atheist, who says he had a revelation by accompanying her grandmother during a pilgrimage in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Open in full screen

In this secular country, there was a kind of modesty generalized in relation to religionsexplains Camille, who nevertheless believes that the context is different in the Parisian suburbs in which she lives.

Maybe also seeing many Muslims in the community who want to talk about their faith, it also leads to talking about his faithexplains the young woman.

Seine-Saint-Denis, the 93as we call the department which carries this number on its license plates, is the territory which has the most Muslim places of worship in France.

There has been more modesty in recent years […] But it tends to reverse strongly.

In the hairdresser, we speak of God; At the bakery, we speak of Godadds Monsignor Guillet.

Open in full screen

The 48 -year -old bishop, the youngest to occupy this function in France, was appointed by Pope Francis in 2024. He is convinced that the future of the Catholic Church, established in certain easier circles, also goes through dioceses like his.

There is something that is playing at the moment: the transformation of the Church of France by the neighborhoodsestimates Monsignor Étienne Guillet, bishop of Saint-Denis.

According to him, in this department which is also the poorest in mainland France, the message he wears has a particular echo.

To be like Jesus with the most fragile, to those who are on the outskirts of societyhe said, indicating that the issues of poverty and migration are predominant in these Parisian suburbs.

A diverse church

During his ordination as a bishop at the Saint-Denis basilica, a place of the last rest of the kings of France, Monsignor Guillet was able to note the diversity of his diocese.

Open in full screen

Ventils, fruit baskets: during the ceremony, the faithful gave him various offerings recalling their origins.

In Seine-Saint-Denis, where we speak 177 languages, 130 nationalities are represented.

According to Mike, faithful thirties of the parish of Blanc-Mesnil, this diversity, on which Pope Francis has bet during his pontificate by appointing cardinals from different territories through the globe, is part of the wealth of the church.

The young man says they wish continuity What the Pope did worldwide.

Camille also considers this opening to the world as essential, although she considers healthy to debate the orientations of the Church, in particular to know how to preserve a traditional side.

Open in full screen

As everywhere in the world, the faithful of Blanc-Mesnil will carefully follow the news that will come from the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave opens this Wednesday.

But, regardless of the dynamics specific to the Vatican and the orientations that the successor of François will take – continuity or rupture -, the bishop Étienne Guillet is convinced that the future of the institution is not played out in Rome.

The church is as much here in white-mesnil as in the Vatican. We do not know very well if the most transformative orientation will come from the Vatican or will come from white-mesnil or from these small local communities which exist everywhere through earthhe said.