History

On this day of the Presentation of Mary in the temple, since 1880
a priestly feast for the priests of the diocese of Nîmes around their bishop.

As they were preparing to celebrate the 140th anniversary of their feast day on November 21st, the priests of the Diocese of Nîmes have seen it postponed indefinitely and likely canceled. Originating in 1880 and celebrated at the seminary on the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, this feast has never been suppressed, even during the difficult years of the First and Second World Wars, although its form has changed. Its existence in our region is due to a unique set of circumstances.

Since its re-establishment in 1823, the Nîmes seminary, then located on Rue des Chassaintes, had been run by priests of the diocese. However, in 1880, the bishop at the time, Bishop Besson, wanted to reassign these priest-professors to parish ministry. Father d'Alzon, founder of the Augustinians of the Assumption, saw this as an opportunity to place his priests as professors at the seminary. But relations between the bishop and Father d'Alzon were far from good, so Bishop Besson preferred to call upon the priests of St. Sulpice, a society founded in 1645 in Paris by Father J.J. Olier de Verneuil for the formation of seminarians.

The Sulpicians arrived in Nîmes in the autumn of 1880. With their expertise and spirituality, they brought their traditional feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. This episode of the Presentation of Mary is not found in the Gospels but in a 2nd-century Egyptian text called the Protoevangelium of James. It was not officially accepted by the Church because of its late date and lack of sufficient historical basis. However, in the 6th century, first in the East and then in the West, popular piety gradually embraced the event, and the feast was incorporated into the liturgical calendar on November 21st.

For Jean-Jacques Olier, the image of the Virgin offering her life to the Lord was the perfect symbol of the young Levite entering the seminary to offer his own in the priesthood. November 21st naturally became the feast day of the St. Sulpice Seminary. On that day, during the solemn Mass presided over by the bishop, the young men entering the seminary donned the cassock to the chant of Nunc tua gens te sibi consecrat, those from the previous year received the tonsure, and all the others, the professors and priests present, came in procession two by two to kneel before the altar and, with their hands in those of the bishop, renewed their clerical promises by reciting the Dominus pars hereditatis meae.

Having arrived in Nîmes in 1880, the Sulpicians celebrated their feast day for the first time on November 21st. Bishop Besson presided; the new members donned their cassocks, others received the tonsure, while the minors, deacons, professors, and priests present renewed their clerical vows. The celebration, impressive in its fervor and the novelty of its hymns, rites, and symbols, amazed those in attendance. Providence, however, allowed this first November 21st to end on a note of sadness. No sooner had the bishop returned to the sacristy than he learned of the death of Father d'Alzon. Having been ill for some time, Bishop Besson had visited him several times, giving him his blessing. He had even written to President Grévy to ensure that the religious were not expelled from the Assumption College at a time when their founder was near death.

Despite this loss, the celebration of November 21st took root in the diocese. It was never to end. The law of separation of church and state of December 1905, which stripped the diocese of its buildings, led the seminary to relocate to 26 rue d'Aquitaine, to a building belonging to the Count of Puysségur, where the Franciscans resided. Despite the cramped quarters, the November 21st celebration continued there until 1925.

Meanwhile, a new seminary was being built on Rue Salomon Reinach. Having arrived in Nîmes on January 15, 1925, Bishop Girbeau urged its completion. On October 14, 1926, the new seminary opened its doors, still under the direction of the Sulpician Fathers, and on November 21 of the following year, the traditional celebration took place, including the investiture with the cassock and renewal of clerical vows.

However, after the Second World War and during the "Thirty Glorious Years" (the post-war economic boom known as "Trente Glorieuses"), attitudes evolved in both society and the Church, culminating in 1968. Despite the renewal brought about by Vatican II, a wind of freedom and individualism was gaining ground, even among Christians. With religious practice declining and vocations dwindling, changes were necessary. As early as 1965, the minor seminary in Beaucaire had closed, giving way to the St. Felix Institute, and relocated to the Assumption Church in Nîmes under the name of the Seminary for Young People, but this did not last long. In 1966, the major seminaries in the region underwent their first transformation. Philosophy students from Nîmes, Mende, and Montpellier were brought together in Montpellier, while theologians from these dioceses were grouped in Nîmes. As a result, there were no more new entrants in Nîmes, therefore no more November 21st: moreover, the Sulpicians had left and the clergyman being authorized, the cassock had practically disappeared! The following year, the Nîmes seminary closed its doors because the 5th and 6th year seminarians were sent on internships in various parishes.

Was November 21st going to disappear forever? Fortunately not! Despite the gloomy atmosphere of the time – the diocese deprived of its minor and major seminaries, the scarcity of vocations, and the departure of several priests after May 1968 – a saving event was about to occur.
At a Presbyterium meeting in 1970, while most of the participants expressed their pessimism, a priest, Fr. Jean Thomas, chancellor-treasurer of the diocese, took the floor and, in his rapid, nervous but convincing voice, affirmed that the clergy, in the circumstances, should not remain isolated, that they needed to come together, to become aware of their unity, to rediscover their collegial vocation, to demonstrate their status as a presbyterium united with the bishop, and even to celebrate. He proposed resuming the celebration on November 21st, even though we no longer had seminary services or the investiture ceremony, cleverly adding, "Of course, the diocese will cover the costs." The proposal was immediately approved by those present and endorsed by Bishop Rougé. The following November 21st, more than a hundred priests gathered in Nîmes, concelebrating Mass with the bishop and renewing their clerical vows. The tradition was revived, ready to continue.

René Guignot