July: A word from the Chairman
Dear members,
Dear friends, dear friends,
Finally, after a two-year postponement, June 11 and 12, 2022 were the two days of festivities organized to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Société Française des Amis de Saint-Jacques.
On Saturday, almost 150 people walked the Paris jacquaire, either individually or as part of one of the walks led by Société Française volunteers Annick Dudouit and Lydie Bodin, Jean Susini, Daniel Bazin and Bernard Petit. Equipped with the anniversary credencial, they stopped off at various Parisian sites evocative of the Compostela pilgrimage or linked to the history of the Société Française. At the end of the walk, they arrived at 8 bis rue Jean Bart, where refreshments awaited them, along with the final stamps: those of the Tour Saint-Jacques, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral and the Société Française. Each received a nominative “Distinction jacquaire” in the image of the Compostela, awarded by the Société Française ” in recognition of your peregrination in the footsteps of Santiago in Paris, your contribution to the revival of interest in the heritage of Compostela and the preservation of the spirit of the Way, the source of all enrichment“. The success of this initiative has prompted the Société Française to make the operation a permanent one, and to plan further walks in the Paris area.
On Sunday, members of the Société Française des Amis de Saint-Jacques were joined by numerous friends and personalities, including Mr. Roberto VARELA, advisor to the Spanish Ambassador in Paris, Mrs. Cecilia Pereira Marimon, representing the Province of Galicia, Comisaria do Xacobeo, Mr. Maxi Ruiz de Lariz and many others. Roberto VARELA, advisor to the Spanish Ambassador in Paris, Mrs. Cecilia Pereira Marimon, representing the Province of Galicia Comisaria do Xacobeo, Mr. Maxi Ruiz de Larramedi, President of the Association of Friends of Santiago d’Estella-Lizzara and representing the President of the Federation of Spanish Associations Jorge Martinez Cava. The blessing of the pilgrims was followed by the hymn to Santiago played on the church’s great organs. The commemorative meal brought together all the members of the Société and their guests in a joyous atmosphere: in addition to the above-mentioned Jacques Chauty president of Compostelle 2000 and his wife, Michel Suchaud representative of the Compostelle Federation, Jacques Vedel pilgrim whose expedition to Santiago we recounted in 1956, Gérald Béhuret president of the Paris-Sens-Vézelay Association with which the Société is co-organizing a series of walking weekends to link Paris to Vezelay. These festivities showed a dynamic French Society, well on its way to becoming a centenarian!
Patrice Jacques Marie Bernard
Chairman
Walking in Jacobean Paris
The mass
The meal
