This Christmas, the creche in Bignan, where the Congregation was founded, took on a new dimension: the village in model form. Sr Agnès Miquel dj interviewed the creator Mr Louis Morio, a former mayor of the village.

 

 

Agnès Miquel: – When did you get the idea for this project?

 

Louis Morio: – About two years ago, when I saw a group of parishioners taking care of the creche.  I said to them that now that I was relieved of my communal responsibilities, I could take care of it myself. I had decided to design a creche but finally I did some further research  in order to reconstitute the eastern part of the village of Bignan.

 

 

 

AM : Why did you choose this theme for the creche?

 

LM: – When it came to it, I was looking for an idea to make it different from a traditional creche. The theme is a tribute to Father Noury, the parish priest of Bignan for about twenty years, from 1771 to 1792. It was he who had this church built in 1787. This inspired me straight away.

Father Noury was recognised as a good pastor to his faithful. Besides that, major projects were carried out at that time. One of them was taken up by one of his successors: the creation of the religious congregation of the “Daughters of Jesus”, the Sisters of Kermaria.

The fact that he wrote a Christmas hymn during his exile in Portugal, the “Pe trouz zou ar en douar” (What a noise on earth) allowed me to link Mr Noury to Christmas.

 

 

 

AM: – When did you start ?

 

LM: – I started to make the model of the church during the first lockdown. Then, I thought that I would try to imagine the  village as it was in the middle of the 19th century, based on the Napoleonic cadastre of 1827, that is to say the documents relating to the division into properties, built and unbuilt, of a French commune and their value. It is a part of the village of Bignan as it might have been with the cemetery around the church, the old chapel of the Congregation, the old presbytery with its farm, and some houses in the centre of the village.

 

 

 

AM : – How long did it take you ?

 

LM: – About 18 months. Every day, I spent two to three hours creating houses, the church, the chapel, etc. I also designed small characters for the church, plaster figures which I brought to life by painting and varnishing them. I made the eastern part of the village from various documents and postcards. Many of the houses are still there today.

AM: – Having seen this work myself, I can say how interesting it is for today, and particularly, I imagine, for the people of Bignan.

 

To see more photos of the creche, click below

Pe trouz zou ar en douar – What noise on earth

 

 What a noise on earth,

what song do I hear?

How beautiful the voices are

that come from heaven!

“Angels, tell me

why you are singing!

What joyous news

has come into this world?”

“Sing along with us!

Sing people of the earth!

We will tell you

wonderful news!

A blessed little child,

King of Jerusalem,

is born to you,

in the city of Bethlehem!”

Song composed by Father Noury

 

Interview by Sr Agnès Miquel fj

 Pontivy, France