The Dassault family’s History and Heritage foundation donated one million euros for the reconstruction work on the Immaculate Conception church in Saint-Omer, partly destroyed by an arson in September.
A donation that did not go unnoticed. The name of the mysterious patron who donated a million euros for the reconstruction of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer, partly destroyed by arsonis now known. This is the Dassault family, through its History and Heritage foundation. The mayor of the city François Decoster raised the suspense this Friday, September 15 on social networks concerning the name of this generous donor.
“Never before has the city of Saint-Omer received sponsorship of this importance,” François Decoster, mayor of Saint-Omer, rejoiced this Friday, November 15, to BFM Grand Littoral.
“A million euros is a very substantial sum, high in stakes. The cost of reconstruction, even if it is not yet known precisely, will be a cost beyond ten million euros”, he adds, welcoming this “very valuable” aid.
Work from April
The Immaculée-Conception church in Saint-Omer was hit hard by a fire on the night of September 1st to 2nd. A man aged around thirty, already convicted of similar acts, was indicted and imprisoned a few days after the incident.
The fire destroyed the bell tower, which collapsed, as well as almost all of the roofs and the 19th century Merklin organ which was inside. Located in a suburb of Saint-Omer, this neo-Gothic church, inaugurated in 1859, was restored between 2014 and 2018.
The church will soon be covered with a giant umbrella to protect it from bad weather and allow reconstruction work. These should begin in April. The pot launched by the city managed to collect, as of Friday November 15, 1,137,602 euros, including the million euros from the Dassault group.
Florine Kurek, with Marine Langlois
