At the request

of their pastoral animator,

a group of 11 – 12 year-old students

of J.P. Calloc’h College, (Locminé France),

visited Kermaria, in May 2018.

It was a visit of mutual discovery.

The project took shape and was clarified in partnership with the College:

 

‘Kermaria yesterday, Kermaria today’.

I enthusiastically tried to mobilize a team of Sisters from Kermaria and the surrounding area around this proposal. Together we developed a programme in three parts :

• The projection of a video about the origin of our Congregation: in the video Sr Germaine Kerveillant tells the story of the Congregation to the children of Bignan primary school.

• An ‘Archives’ workshop presenting the various materials and means that make it possible to write and rewrite history.

• The testimony of the Sisters.

 

Walking from one workshop to another allowed the students to discover the Kermaria site which, on the day, displayed the finery of its greenery and different flower beds.

 

 

Some reactions :

• From the students:

“I had a great afternoon. It was interesting, but I would have liked to have stayed longer. The Sisters were very kind and welcoming. Thank you very much ! » (Mathilde)

“The visit was good, the Sisters also and especially when they showed us the documents (archives, photos, objects). I learned a lot of things, and how Kermaria was in the past. ” (Julien)

 

 

” It was great. I really enjoyed visiting the cemeteries and the archives room. My favourite moment was when the sister told us everything she had done when she was young. (Julie)

• From the teachers:

“The ‘Archives’ workshop was new to them; ‘What could there be in this secret, mysterious building?’ We can now surmise the life that is written, maintained and transmitted … from the traces left by their predecessors “

“We enjoyed a very pleasant visit carried with good humour and great simplicity. I was surprised by the students’ attention and interest in Kermaria’s history and in the moments spent with the Sisters. The students seemed to be confident with the Sisters. I loved it when the students and the Sister read the prayer together at the end of the testimony. The archives are an important place to discover Kermaria: the students were very interested to see the objects and old school furniture, that really meant something to them. “

• From the Sisters:

“I really enjoyed meeting these young teenagers, curious to know who we are. I found them receptive and considerate, and that they asked very relevant questions. (A Sister who acted as a ‘guide’)

 

“They were very well-behaved, and well-disciplined. But our lifestyle, our experiences, do they speak to these young people today? They have everything … Anyway, we sowed the seed, we talked and shared with them; the effect on them doesn’t belong to us! “(A Sister who gave her testimony).

 

To conclude, it was a rich experience where the Sisters were very much involved; it is an invitation to these young people and their families to return to this place – at once source and resource! There is something at work there: ‘the genius or the magic of the place’!

Sr Marie-Andrée Servel (Archiviste)