This history of Catholic teaching begins in the 16the century. For what ?
We have few documents from the medieval period. This changed with the Wars of Religion, the arrival of the Jesuits and other congregations. In the 16th centurye century, education became a political issue and at the beginning of the 17th centurye, the foundations are numerous. In Bordeaux, Jeanne de Lestonnac (1556-1640), niece of Montaigne, founded in 1607 the Company of Marie Notre-Dame for the education of young girls, which had around thirty houses at the time of her death.
Among the key dates is an ordinance from 1698…
Yes, and we often forget it, this decision of Louis writing and religious instruction. This caused literacy to jump until the Revolution with the rise of the network of Brothers of Christian Schools which, in Bordeaux, was established in particular in Saint-Genès. Another important date: the closure of the Jesuit colleges in 1762. The Society of Jesus saw its Bordeaux college of Madeleine closed but it was reestablished in the 19th century.e century, first at Sauve Majeure, then in 1858 in Bordeaux in the Labottière district, finally on the current site of Tivoli after the fire of 1904.
This accidental fire of 1904 broke out in the middle of the “school war”…
Yes, it causes a psychological shock in Gironde that is all the stronger because at the national level, the dissolution of the teaching congregations triggers a hemorrhage: it is estimated that across France, more than 7,000 Jesuits, Marists, Brothers Christian and Ursuline Schools fled the country while after the Restoration, the 19th centurye century had been a period of renewal of the Catholic school, especially after the Falloux law (1850) on freedom of education. At the same time, secularization resulted in the Ferry laws and it was not until 1959 and the Debré law (on contracts) that tensions eased between public schools and free schools.
What archives did you rely on?
Those from diocesan education provided correspondence, letters, directories, school reports, photos. The buildings have been disrupted, they have undergone destruction, reconstruction, repurposing, but there is a great wealth of heritage, and new projects, such as the Saint-François d’Assise campus to the north of Bordeaux. But Catholic schools are first and foremost these men and women who devote themselves to the education of young people. The book emphasizes the educational work, innovations, and the complementarity of this network with that of public schools.
Its Gironde location shows a strong anchoring in Bordeaux…
Yes, but it is present in Libournais, the Garonne valley, the Arcachon basin. Much less in the Médoc but an establishment like the Notre-Dame school-college in Lesparre, whose school population reflects the social vulnerability of the sector, is developing an inclusive and innovative project (morning school, academic support, cultural workshops, reception of disabled students).
The chapters on history and on the traces of a past in reconstruction are accompanied by a photo report. Did you care about it?
Yes. Vincent Monthiers went to each of the establishments to understand what makes their life and their own spirit, their uniqueness, from the small country school to the large establishments in Bordeaux.
39,000 students educated in 113 structures
Professor of history at the University of Bordeaux and specialist in educational heritage and school culture from the 18th and 19th centurye centuries, Marguerite Figeac-Monthus coordinated the work of seven other historians and professors (Nicolas Champ, Aude Loriaud, Jean-Pierre Moisset, François Moog, Bruno Poucet, Côme Simien and Eric Suire), a geographer (Anne-Marie Meyer ) and a photographer (Vincent Monthiers) to bring together the abundant material for the book.
Initiated by the former director of diocesan education Isabelle des Bourboux and supported by her successor Stéphane Chassard-Guillard (they signed the afterword together), the project fills a gap because no synthesis work existed on the history of network of Catholic education in Gironde. Today it welcomes 39,000 children spread across 26 high schools, 28 middle schools, and 59 schools, trained by 3,500 educators and supervised by 15 supervisory authorities (congregations and diocese).
“History of Catholic education in Gironde”, under the direction of Marguerite Figeac-Monthus, ed. Confluences, 310 p., 38 euros. Presentation of the work on May 22 at the Mollat bookstore.
