Poup0016

April 1843 - Account by Victor Poupinel of the mission of April 1843 in Saint-Bonnet-le-Troncy

According to Mayet (Mayet's writing), S2, 3-8. Edited in CS2 doc. 69.

Translated by ChatGPT, February 2024

A mission in the parish of the Father Superior General in 1843.

[1]

In 1843, a mission was given in the parish of the father. As, when its history is written, one might be pleased that I spoke of this circumstance, here is what Father Poupinel wrote to me about it, as he was giving it with Father Maîtrepierre.

[2]

"It is the mission that, along with that of ..., possesses all my affections: no mission until now has seemed to me as peaceful, as calm, as edifying as that one. It is a blessing for Saint-Bonnet (that's the name of the parish) that we did not receive strangers for confession. We did not have that enthusiasm, that commotion, that tumult that makes a great noise from afar; but I believe that peace has always prevailed and that the good is perhaps more solid. Moreover, the parish was stirred as much as possible, and only one individual did not confess. Alas! He is a very good man cruelly tried, and I hope that later he will return to the good Lord. It is not necessary to tell you that everything was conducted with prudence; you know who was at the helm. Fr. the parish priest said that if he had a reproach to make to Father Maîtrepierre, it would be for having been a little too prudent. I believe that is the best of reproaches. We each confessed about 500 people; we stayed four weeks, less one day. The consecration to the Holy Virgin, the blessing of the children, and the planting of the cross, all these ceremonies were perfectly successful and beyond our expectations. Father Maîtrepierre, who fears noise and commotion, anticipating a solemn departure, had us move suddenly and incognito. But many people who noticed it came crying in the street asking for his blessing, and I too could not leave without shedding tears for this good, sensitive, religiously instructed people, animated by faith and who know how to weep for the faults that human frailty makes them commit.

[3]

"Throughout the mission, I stayed at Mr. Colin's, the elder brother of our good Father General, and in the house where this good father has lived since the age of 10 or 11.

[4]

"The Colin family, one of the wealthiest in the area, is also one of the most venerable. The patriarchal spirit still reigns there, and I have had few spectacles as touching as that of Mr. Colin's (Joseph) numerous family in Saint-Nizier.

[5]

"Father Maîtrepierre did not miss, in the opening instruction of the mission, to recall that it was a blessing for us to come to work in Saint-Bonnet, that it is to this parish that we owe our superior, and that we would like to express our gratitude to him in a worthy manner. The arrival of Father Colin, the elder, filled us with joy. He gave the instruction on Easter Monday morning."