“Our beautiful Cathedral!” This expression often comes to the lips of the inhabitants of Cavaillon.
But as we get closer to D-Day, the expression “our beautiful Cathedral!” takes on more substance: it takes shape!
On Saturday, December 14, at 10:00, our Mayor Gérard Daudet will hand over the keys of the Cathedral to Archbishop François Fontlup. He will open the doors to us and we will then have the joy of seeing it in all its beauty. Of course, there will still be some finishing touches to do, but for us it is already very beautiful and, all amazed, we let out from our hearts a big thank you to all those who contributed to the restoration.
The “men of art” (builders of dizzying scaffolding, bricklayers, stonecutters, carpenters, electricians, simple laborers, painters and restorers of paintings or murals or frescoes, cabinetmakers who restore gilded wood, lighting technicians, installers, without forgetting… the founders who created the three new bells. And all those we forget to name because we did not see them at work, hidden as they were, creating beauty, in secret…
As well as all the members of large and diverse companies (we do not mention them; there are many who worked in unison under the guidance of those responsible for the works, that of the management of the Cavaillon Museum and above all of the architect who directed the restoration.
This is for all of you, restorers of our beautiful Cathedral: “Believe that we greatly appreciate what you have done to restore the beauty of what for us is more than a building: a place of celebration and prayer.”
All this would have been impossible without the decision of the Municipality to restore the cathedral, the aid of the State, the Region and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs, the Department…
Don’t worry about not having completed the work: we are already rediscovering its beauty. And, finally,… we will keep you with us a little longer!
On Saturday, at 6 pm, we will give thanks during a mass, we will do it thinking of all our ancestors who built and preserved “our beautiful cathedral” and of all the pastors who announced the Gospel, especially Saint Véran, and the son of the city, Saint Caesar de Bus.
But why a Mass of Thanksgiving?
The great St. Augustine, Father of the Church, would tell us: “What we see realized here physically with the walls (our cathedral) must be realized spiritually with souls; what we see realized here, with stones and wood, must be realized in our life as Christians with the grace of God. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. The best gifts, the wonderful gifts come from him. Let us celebrate his goodness with all the enthusiasm of our heart”.
Thank you. The priests, the Pastoral Council, the Economic Council and all the parishioners.
Parish of Cavaillon-Les Vignères et de Cheval-Blanc
Photos and videos of the reopening of the Cathedral in Cavaillon on Saturday 14 December in the presence of civil and religious authorities: Archbishop François Fontlup handed over the keys of the cathedral to Father Gian Mario Redaelli.
