The bells of the Church of the village of Baconnière, in Mayenne will no longer ring. The building, built 150 years ago, had become too fragile, too dangerous. The cost of the repairs was far too high for the finances of a municipality of 2,000 inhabitants. The emotion is strong, because it is a whole section of local heritage that is disappearing.
“It hurts my heart a little, said a passer-by in front of the excavator busy tearing down the walls of the Baconnière church. It’s a shame because it’s part of the town. It’s a landmark.”
“I knew her when I was young. Not seeing the church anymore, it’s going to be funny” said Dominique, a resident who would have liked us to at least keep the facade.
A few meters further on lies the structure of the bell tower which was removed the day before.
“There were stones falling, our children go to school and pass by. That’s why the church was closed, testifies Abdallah another resident whose house is at the foot of the church.
“A village without a church, it’s going to be weird, he points out. I had the ringing of the bell telling me: it’s time to go eat. It was fun.” Abdallah had the pleasure of holding the church rooster in his hands for a moment. But he couldn’t keep it.
“We know that since the beginning of its construction, in 1864, there have been problems with the framework, explains David Besneux, the mayor who confirms that the building was becoming dangerous. In terms of costs, we were unable to renovate it. So, that’s why there was a request for desacralization that was made at the level of the diocese.”
►See the deconstruction of the bell tower filmed by Mickaël, a resident of La Baconnière.
Rehabilitating the building would have cost seven million euros according to the mayor of the town. The village only has an annual investment budget of one million euros each year.
But not everything will be demolished, part will be kept and renovated, the base of the church up to the height of the main door.
Olivier Quentin with Maïna Sicard-Cras
