In the south-west of France, in the workshops, in Hagetmau, of the company Bastiat Sièges, in front of 80 guests, Mgr Nicolas Souchu, blessed a small part of the 1,500 chairs which will join, from Tuesday, the renovated nave of the cathedral.
The prelate had proposed this “uncommon” blessing in the spring.
All the liturgical objects in the cathedral will be blessed “but the chairs probably would not have been”, explains the Landes bishop to AFP, attached to the symbol.
“It’s also a way of honoring those who made them,” he smiles.
The SME Bastiat Sièges, founded in 1964, was chosen to manufacture “limited and exclusive edition” seats intended to furnish the masterpiece of Gothic art from the 12th century, which is among the most visited monuments in Europe .
An order which amounts to “hundreds of thousands of euros”, unexpected for Bastiat Sièges and its annual turnover of 1.4 million euros.
The family company was also responsible for the design of the prie-Dieu and the benches intended for the annex chapels of the cathedral, which will be delivered in February.
