French Catholic heritage is under attack almost everywhere in the territory. And in different ways.
A few kilometers from Brittany, in the South Channel, the small town of Savigny-le-Vieux was the target of thieves. The church of this village of around 400 inhabitants has indeed seen several of its copper gutter downspouts stolen. A theft reported by the mayor of the town, Patrick Lepeltier, on December 28 on his Facebook page.
The municipality filed a complaint following these thefts. Some gutters remained in place, the criminals not having managed to tear them off.
Unsurprisingly, this affair received very little media coverage, only the local newspaper The Free Channel having mentioned these thefts and damage committed on the church. Thus, in Savigny-le-Vieux as in many other French communes before it, a Catholic building is once again attacked amid almost general indifference.
This indifference is all the more symbolic as this peaceful penguin village is actually home to a rich history. As recalled in April 2023 La Gazette de la Manche, Ille-et-Vilaine and MayenneSavigny-le-Vieux has been labeled a Bay Heritage Village for around 20 years.
If the town is renowned for the ruins of its abbey, it is also home to the family tomb of the family of fashion designer Christian Dior, the latter's great-grandfather having been born there. He was even mayor of Savigny-le-Vieux for a time.
As for the future, it is a source of concern in Normandy for religious heritage because the region has already been the scene of several thefts and desecrations in recent years. Last October, in the neighboring department of Calvados, the Notre-Dame de Vire church was notably the target of vandals. In May 2024, this time it was the Abbey of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives, still in Calvados, which had been desecrated.
Finally, in 2021, in Genêts, a village also located in the South Manche, the cemetery was looted with nearly 20 tombs ransacked and cast iron crosses stolen. Children's graves had also been defaced.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (CC/Xfigpower) (illustrative photo)
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