The handshake and smile are frank and friendly. Cécile Viguié, 48, arrived in Agen, in her new and first parish of the United Protestant Church, on August 15. “I was appointed on 1is July, but, as an army chaplain, I was alongside the soldiers who provided security during the Olympic Games in Paris,” she explains. Even when appointed, she remains a reservist and will always give a few days per month to the army, in this same mission.
A memory that shines within her. Not only because the event was global in scope and aroused enthusiasm. “I was with them before the start, when the tension was at its height, when everyone was arriving on site,” she remembers. The Games were, at that time, not necessarily in the odor of sanctity. Which made it all the more a crucial moment, “where support is essential”. Same at the end, the second part of his mission. “Pivotal moments, just before and just after, when you have to be available to others. » The essence of one’s vocation: being available when others need it most. In good times and bad times.
“His own path”
This is indeed his profession of faith. Available at the other. Listening. “To help everyone find their own path. » Like when she worked for the City of Paris as a librarian. On the shelves, with the public, but also as a trainer. “I started my career with a bookseller who sold old books on the Internet. I wrote notices,” says the new pastor. Until a copy of the Encyclopedia flew into someone’s home. “It wasn’t his place. »
So, she naturally found her place among books, in these dens of culture that are libraries. At the service of people, of those who seek, who seek themselves. Which she finds in her vocation as a pastor. With an “e”, she prefers. “Today we are 30% women, and 50% among theology students. »
“In faith there is a dimension of letting go. We are at the service of an Other who goes beyond us. » She then chose this unconditional welcome, firstly to guide people through the twists and turns of culture. Before guiding them in their faith, “and letting them make their own way”.
Faith did not come to him by chance. Céline Viguié comes from a Protestant family in the South-West, born in Albi, high school student in Bergerac and student in Bordeaux. “I had no ties to Lot-et-Garonne. » It is now done.
Two years without a pastor
It was after the Paris attacks in 2015 that she felt called. “I went from books to Books. » It took him two years of work, “of discernment”, a crucial concept in his faith. She took her first position in 2017. It was after another key moment in her life, Covid, that she decided to become a pastor. Here again, he needs to take the time. “We are called, but it is by many that we listen to this voice of the Lord.”
“In faith there is a dimension of letting go. We are at the service of an Other who goes beyond us. »
A voice and a path that lead her to Agen. “The parish remained without a pastor for two years,” she explains. The vocations crisis is not the prerogative of Catholic priests. So, since she arrived, there has been no shortage of requests from her parishioners. Everyone wants to share a moment with her, sometimes just informal, to get to know each other. But, Céline Viguié does not forget her mission. Since she arrived, she began preparing a couple for marriage, young people for confirmation. “And, I also accompanied a family for my first funeral. » According to the customs of her ministry, the pastor is appointed for six to twelve years in Agen.
This Sunday, October 6, the bishop will be there for his official welcoming service, at 3 p.m. “I have not yet had time to meet the ministers of other Protestant religions, the imam, the rabbi and even the bishop. But I know the important interreligious work in Agen, so it’s a project. I am very attached to this way of working together! » The new pastor wants above all to be a facilitator for everyone, “with a dimension of training, discernment of talents and meeting people”.
Accompany, another verb that the pastor holds high. “People come here to find answers. Even if they often come away with questions…” She is there for them.
