Olivier Lecanu will be ordained a priest by Mgr Philippe Christory, this Sunday, June 30, in Chartres

Olivier Lecanu, 37, is preparing to experience an important moment on Sunday, June 24. This deacon, born in Versailles but raised in Dreux, will be ordained a priest by Mgr Philippe Christory, Bishop of Chartres.

This is the third priestly ordination since 2018, in the diocese (after Louis-Marie Cuisiniez in 2018 and Clément Pierson in 2023).

A future priest for the diocese of Chartres

This ordination represents the culmination of a long commitment for Olivier Lecanu, who studied accounting management, a BTS in accounting and then a work-study degree in accounting. He looks back on the beginning of his spiritual journey:

“I was not baptized as a child, but I started going to catechism at the age of 7. I served mass with Father Daniel Rambure. I had a great desire to become a priest. I was baptized and I made my communion at the age of 9. I went very often to the Legionaries of Christ, a small seminary in Seine-et-Marne, with them I went to Lourdes and then to Rome. I made several attempts to join the minor seminary, but I was too young to stay there. My desire to be a priest dissipated, but I continued to serve mass until I was 17. From there, I experienced a complicated period, a real crisis of my faith. My life was filled with sadness and revolts. This period of desert lasted from the time I was 17 until almost my 30s.

“The bishop will entrust me with a parish mission”

After having “rediscovered my faith”, Olivier Lecanu decided to make a concrete commitment: “I received the sacrament of confirmation in May 2017, then met three people from the diocese who advised me to present myself to Mgr Pansard, bishop of Chartres at that time, to ask to enter the seminary. In September 2018, I returned to the seminary of Ars-sur-Formans (Ain), until my diaconal ordination on June 25, 2023.”

At 30, he will be ordained a priest on Sunday at Chartres Cathedral.

Since this date, Olivier Lecanu has been preparing to become a priest. It will therefore be done this Sunday. “For the past year, I have gone to WYD (World Youth Day), I participated in the School of Prayer and the Pelé VTT. In September, I was assigned, for integration, to the Saint-Lubin-du-Perche parish of Nogent-le Rotrou, with Fathers Hugues de Tilly and Louis-Marie Cuisiniez. During the year, I celebrated eight funeral ceremonies, eight baptisms, one wedding… And one week per month, I returned to the seminary of Ars-sur-Formans and Lyon to complete my training. »

Olivier Lecanu’s priestly ordination is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. “On the day of my ordination, the bishop will entrust me with a parish mission,” confides the future priest.

Mgr Philippe Christory: “We believe that a young person can face this challenge”

Monsignor Philippe Christory, Bishop of Chartres, discusses the priestly ordination of Olivier Lecanu, Sunday June 24.

After Louis-Marie Cuisiniez in 2018 and Clément Pierson in 2023, you will ordain a third priest on Sunday since you became Bishop of Chartres. What is your state of mind a few days before this diocesan event?

It is a great joy and a privilege to ordain Olivier Lecanu and I remember my own priestly ordination, 32 years ago. I wish him the same happiness of being at the service and listening to others.

You know Olivier Lecanu well, whom you ordained deacon last year…

Olivier is a mature, calm, reserved boy, which gives him a listening and waiting attitude. He has the ability to transmit and teach young and old alike.

Are there other young people in the seminary at the moment?

A young person completes a year of discernment. The diocese prays that in families, young people allow themselves to be embraced by God for a life of demands and self-sacrifice, but which brings much joy and gives meaning to life. We await this expectation with hope.

Can we talk about a crisis of vocations or a crisis of commitment?

Given the number of seminarians, we can say that there is a vocations crisis, because there is a shortage of them. However, in society, we are seeing a real crisis of commitment and difficulty for many people to make a lifelong commitment. However, we believe that a young person can face this challenge if he is supported by his family and a warm and missionary Catholic community.

To make up for this lack, you call on African, Haitian, Polish priests, etc.

The presence of priests from several countries is a blessing because they bring their own wealth and experience. For them, it is a real effort to adapt and it is important that the faithful welcome them and help them integrate into the local fabric. Real aid to the mission is necessary, but these priests are also needed in their countries. Therefore, we hope that young French people hear the call of the Lord.

For several years, your predecessors have brought in priests who had not been trained in the diocesan seminary, but in the Saint-Martin community.

These priests bring a very beautiful fraternal and missionary testimony. Next September, two priests from the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, whose members also bear the name Pallottines, a Pole and an African, will form a small parish community to serve the sectors of Gallardon, Épernon and the sanctuary of Mercy. .

Few young people engage in the priesthood, however, many of them participate in large gatherings like WYD. A hope for the Church?

It is comforting to see the number of children and young teenagers who get involved through the profession of faith, Confirmation, prayer schools, mountain bike pelés, scouting, praise evenings… They are looking for witnesses of the faith and aspire to quality training. Our young priests and teams work to accompany them, teach them and help find answers to their questions.