On February 22, an exceptional Rencontre Littéraire crowned the adventure of our book Trois jours et trois nuits; Supported by our publishers Editis and Fayard, the Collège des Bernardins welcomed us into its admirable great nave, an exceptional 12th-century Cistercian vessel;
Despite the latest health constraints and the February vacations, over 500 people came to meet Pascal Bruckner, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, Sylvain Tesson, Thibault de Montaigu, Jean-Marie Rouart, Louis-Henri de la Rochefoucauld, Jean-René van der Plaetsen, Simon Liberati, Sébastien Lapaque; From Doha, Frédéric de Beigbeder was kind enough to answer questions from Eugénie Bastié, who moderated the debates;
The evening was unanimously recognized as a beautiful moment of communion: communion between the authors themselves, between the authors and the community, and between the guests and the authors and canons;
For regular canons, allowing communion is a goal in itself (Saint Augustine in the first article of the Rule commands us to live unanimously in the House) and a success when it is a source of joy and peace.
This event has become a real beacon of hope and encouragement for the months ahead; Indeed, the opening of our second phase of restoration work on the abbey church is imminent: the Direction Générale des Affaires Culturelles has just guaranteed us authorization for the work to begin in April; This is a very important stage in the restoration of the abbey church: our church will finally regain the space it lost two centuries ago;
We’re starting this decisive stage in the restoration process!
You can relive or discover this Rencontre Littéraire des Bernardins by watching the video below (french only) :