Un nouvel abbé pour l'abbaye Sainte-Anne de Kergonan
1 Vues de vidéo·1 nov. 2023
Samedi 28 octobre 2023, l'abbaye bénédictine Sainte-Anne de Kergonan, en Bretagne, était en fête ! Mgr Raymond Centène, évêque de Vannes, a béni le frère Jean-Vincent Giraud, devenu père abbé de la communauté. Il a été élu le 22 août dernier par les moines de sa communauté, à seulement 36 ans.
L'occasion de rassembler une vingtaine de pères abbés de la Congrégation de Solesmes, venus entourer Dom Jean-Vincent pour sa bénédiction officielle.
On this Saturday, October 28th, the monks of the Abbey of Kergonan
finish the final preparations for the abbacial blessing of the new Abbot.
Then we go back down to here.
36 years old, of whom Jean-Vincent Giraud was ordained a priest just three months ago.
And yet, he was chosen by his brothers to guide the community.
He was elected on August 22nd as the 6th Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Kergonan.
A community of 17 monks, well known in Brittany.
I am still a monk.
I am still called to become a saint in the context of monastic life.
For my Abbey, I had to choose a motto.
I took
NOS PARITER CHRISTUS PERDUCAT
May Christ lead us all together.
These are a few words that are taken from chapter 72 of the rule of Saint Benoît.
So I took this motto,
because I am well aware of being poor, young,
well-off in the face of all the tasks that were given to me today,
what was asked of me.
And I know that it is really Christ who will lead us.
Wisdom may not wait for the number of years,
but the young Abbot is not alone.
The Abbey of Kergonan is not a free electron, it is not isolated,
but it is part of a Benedictine congregation,
which is the congregation of Solem,
which has 31 monasteries,
23 monks and 8 demoniacs.
And when Brother Jean-Vincent was elected Abbot,
it is true that he did not have the experience of the government.
He had been under prayer for a few months.
He had been ordained a priest a month before.
Faced with this, of course, I, Abbot President, and we, the congregation,
cannot leave Brother Jean-Vincent without help.
And so I proposed to him to choose a patron
to help him in his government.
And so that he feels accompanied, and not alone,
faced with this not obvious burden
that he must learn, in a certain way, from nothing.
And it is about twenty Abbots of the congregation of Solem
who came to surround Don Jean-Vincent
for his official blessing by the bishop of the Diocese of Vannes,
Monsignor Raymond Centenne.
Do you want to teach your brothers,
by your way of living,
your teaching and your example,
by your actions,
even more than by your words?
Yes, I want to.
The rule of St. Benoît speaks a lot about the Abbot.
It gives him a huge role,
since he represents Christ in the community.
He insists that the Abbot must ask
for the opinion of the community
for all the important decisions
that must be taken in the monastery.
Receive this ring as a sign of fidelity.
The new Abbot then accepts the ring
as a sign of fidelity to the Pope,
the mitre and the pastoral baton.
He receives the kiss of peace from the bishop who blessed him,
then from the bishops and Abbots present.
All the monks then approach him
to kneel down,
hands joined in the hands of the Abbot.
This Abbot blessing marks a new momentum for the community
that had no Abbot for five years.
I am in great joy.
There is a joy of the result obtained, if you will,
and a hope to move forward.
I hope that having an Abbot
will help young people to give themselves to God here.
When we see the youth of the Abbot,
in our election,
we made the choice of the future.
We really turned to the future
by choosing such a young Abbot.
We have just received him and we are setting off on a long journey.
This day ends with a traditional monastic song,
Laudes Festivae,
sung for each abbessal blessing.