Saint Peter-Julian Eymard welcomes you to his birthplace of La Mure

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Saint Peter-Julian Eymard welcomes you to his birthplace of La Mure"

Jeffry Cummings
5 years ago
Views:

1 Saint Peter-Julian Eymard welcomes you to his birthplace of La Mure Greetings and welcome to all! La Mure is the town where Saint Peter-Julian Eymard was born (4 February 1811) and also where he died (1 August 1868). 1 - LA MURE La Mure d Isère, situated about 900 meters above sea level, is the administrative, economic and cultural hub of the surrounding rural, artisan and industrial world on the plateau of the Matheysine countryside, in the heart of the Dauphiné region and the cluster of the Alps with its mountains and valleys. It is about forty kilometers from Grenoble, reached by the Route Nationale 85, better known by the name Route Napoleon. This town today comprises about 5300 inhabitants. Most recent studies indicate that the etymology of Mure comes from the pre-celtic root Mor, Mur, signifying piece of stone or rocky mound. This is also the name of the rocky hill on which was built the first dauphine castle. It is mentioned, in fact, in the Inventory of the Dauphin s Properties (1339) that the castle was constructed on the hill from which the town has its name. The explanation of the name of the town is thus very ancient. Regarding the name Matheysine, this word derives from the gradual distortion of the term Matacena. This word comes from the Latin root Matus, meaning damp and the pre-latin Cena, meaning high plateau. The term thus indicates an elevated plateau abundant in water which corresponds exactly to how we know it still today. The old town Passing along the main street ( Grande Rue ) we come to the Clock Tower, the Belfry. Built at the beginning of the 18 th century, the tower was meant to support the clock and curfew bell. At the base of the tower there is a small fountain from the same époque. At number 13 along the Grande Rue, at the home of Mr Genevois, the former mayor, the exiled Pope Pius VI stayed in Expelled from the Vatican by France and its revolutionary government, the Sovereign Pontiff was on his way to Valence, where he was to be detained. Exhausted, he arrived with his entourage at La Mure, where he stayed on 3-4 July He departed on 5 July and died at Valence on 29 August. At numbers 41 and 43 of the same street, at the house of Moyse Du Port, the squire of La Mure, Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, on their way to wage war in Italy, made a stop in We then come to La Halle, the covered market. This was built first in 1309 following the Charter of Liberties that granted to the inhabitants of La Mure certain rights, one of which was that of having a market ( Halles ). It houses the market, butcher shop and granary. This building was burned down many times, but it was always rebuilt on the same site, the last time being in the 19 th century. Today it accommodates every Monday morning a part of the market. After La Halle, at the right, we have the Maison Caral, the Matheysin museum. Going back to the 12 th century (the castle of the Dauphins), this ancient special palace from the 17 th century is one of the oldest monuments of the town. Today, the Matheysin museum contains magnificent archeological, artistic, artisan and industrial collections (from the mines, the rural world, gloves, pedlars, etc.). 1

2 We go along to the end of Colonel Escallon Street and we climb to our right until reaching Beaumont castle. This was built in the second half of the 15 th century by Humbert de Comboursier. It was a royal manor of La Mure. Of the four tours to the crenellations and fortifications only the south east tour remains from that époque. The town became the owner of the castle in Its chapel was constructed in 1845 by the Sisters of the Nativity for a school for young girls. The castle was one of three castles represented on the shield of the town, with the Dauphine castle (site of the museum) and the castle (destroyed now) that was situated in the Square of the Capuchins. 2 - WE HAVE COME TO THE THREE CROSSES There are two events that are inscribed most particularly in the great moments of La Mure s history: the siege of 1580 and Napoleon s march through it in The Three Crosses were erected to recall the existence of the Chapel of the Calvary, constructed on the ancient Protestant citadel, which was destroyed during the Wars of Religion of In that year, at the time of the Wars of Religion, La Mure experienced a distressing siege. The Duke of Mayenne, Charles de Lorraine, surrounded the protestant town with 9,400 men. As a result of the extremely bloody fighting, 1,500 people of La Mure took refuge in the citadelle (situated at the site of what has been named today the Three Crosses). Lacking water and food, they finally surrendered after thirty-seven days of siege that cost the lives of 1,200 people. The town of La Mure is also where Napoleon s hazardous victory took place. In 1814, conquered by the coalition of sovereigns, he had been sent to the island of Elba. Unable to be kept in exile, he took ship on 1 March 1815 at the Gulf of Juan. He followed the road across the mountains and arrived at Grenoble and the Dauphine region, coming to La Mure on the morning of 7 March. He was welcomed triumphantly by numerous volunteers swelling his escort. He halted on the hill of the Calvary for refreshments in front of the whole population. Then he depart for Laffrey, where he met the royal troops rallying to his cause in this famous prairie at the edge of the lake, a little before the village. The youth of Father Eymard was marked by the spirituality of penitence and reparation [for the havoc to religion caused by the Revolution and Napoleon]. In this spirit, as a child Peter-Julian used to visit the Calvary at the edge of the town. Still a child, he went there often, even barefoot in the snow to prepare for his First Communion. Attention to the cross, to suffering was always in Father Eymard s thought. He wrote to a lady: The crosses are not but heavenly messengers, proofs of love. Don t live, good sister, in your crosses, but in the divine love and holy abandonment. (Letter to Madame Perroud, 12 February 1852, CO 327.) The three crosses recall the spiritual journey that St Peter-Julian Eymard made. At the Calvary of St Romans, some kilometers from St Marcellin, he would come to understand God s love for humankind and his spirituality would have a turning point, becoming a love-centered spirituality. He will write to a correspondent: You are thus at Calet in this charming countryside where stands my mystic rock, the place I used to contemplate heaven so pure and so beautiful! It is one of those nights that I ll not ever forget. Take advantage of this gentle silence of solitude to draw near to God, taste God, lose yourself a little in the harmony of his heart. (Letter to Madame Jordan, 5 May 1864, CO 1380.) From here the panorama opens up towards the chain of the Alps, the mountain range of the Chartreuse to the north right up to the summit of Obiou in the south. At the beginning of the 19 th century, La Mure was a relatively important town, comprising 1,836 inhabitants in 1811 (3,565 in 1866). 2

3 Finally, the history of La Mure was also closely associated with the mining industry. Excavated since the Middle Ages, but industrially from 1806, the coal mines provided work for a population which agriculture (in particular farming) and cottage industries were unable to retain from the attraction of the city; they were thus the core of the economic life of the town. The closing of the last mines at Villaret took place in THE FAMILY OF THE EYMARDS In 1804, Julien Eymard, who married his second wife Madeleine Pelorce, left his native town of Oisans to set up in La Mure that offered better prospects to bring up his six children. Industrious, hardworking, he set up his home at 69 rue du Breuil and started a business and a knife-sharpening shop. He took his place among the small artisans of the town. This is where Peter-Julian was born on 4 February 1811, towards 11 a.m. It was a Monday, market day. The news of his birth must have spread rather quickly through the town. Peter-Julian was the last of ten children of Julien Eymard, the fourth of his second marriage. 67 rue du Breuil : Eymard house A little later Julian Eymard acquired the adjoining property at n.67. He arranged it, constructing in the back garden a place for an oil press and hired a worker called Giraulet from Oisans to assist him in his business. At 67 rue du Breuil, a commemorative plaque indicates: In this house St Peter-Julian Eymard lived and died. This is the family house where young Peter-Julian grew up. The place also saw so many bereavements: of his numerous brothers and sisters, he only knew his half-sister and godmother Marianne, to whom Annette Bernard was added when adopted by the family and became considered as a sister. His mother died in 1828, and his father, who opposed his vocation, died in After that he entered the major seminary of Grenoble and his sisters lived in the house with some lodgers. When he became a priest he returned here to spend a few days rest with his family. In the same way, somewhat more rarely, when he became a Marist or Founder of the Society of the Blessed Sacrament, it was always a joy for him to revisit his native town. Arriving on 21 July 1868, his last visit to repose here was longer. In fact, these were his last hours. On Saturday, 1 August he surrendered his soul to God. 4 - THE OLD CHURCH OF LA MURE, TODAY CALLED EYMARD CHAPEL The origin of the old parish church of La Mure goes back to the middle of the 11 th century. It was then the chapel of a Benedictine priory. Destroyed by the Protestants in 1579 during the Wars of Religion, the nave and belfry were reconstructed towards Mostly demolished at the beginning of the 20 th century, when the parish was provided with a more spacious church, the old church was saved from complete demolition in 1902: it retains its restored façade, a part of the nave, apse, a side chapel and old stone belfry. Parochial life at the time of Father Eymard In 1806 the Abbé Joseph Second was appointed parish priest of La Mure. He remained this for twenty years. The parish had many confraternities, among which the Confraternity of the Penitents of the Blessed Sacrament was one. Founded in 1625, stripped of its possessions during the Revolution, it resumed its activities in Following the parish mission given from 5 October to 3

4 8 December 1817, Julien Eymard, a knife sharpener from Breuil, was received among the brethren of the Confraternity. Thus, as regards religious practice, he was not outdone by his pious wife. As a member of the Confraternity he was fully integrated into the parish and social life of La Mure. The family and parochial life of La Mure help Peter-Julian to cross over the various stages of the development of his faith received at baptism until his priestly ordination and religious life, right up to his charism of Founder. On the day after his birth (5 February), Peter-Julian was taken to the nearby parish church to be baptized by the parish priest, the Abbé Joseph Second. This is recorded in the baptismal register of the parish of La Mure as follows: Fifth of February one thousand eight hundred and eleven, I solemnly baptized Peter-Julian Eymard, a legitimate son of the married couple, another Julien Eymard, knife-sharpener resident in La Mure, and Marie Pelorce. He was born the preceding day. His godfather was Antoine Eymard, his brother, and godmother Marianne Eymard, his sister. I thus certify with the undersigned. In this church, that is now called St Peter-Julian Eymard chapel, the old font in which Peter-Julian was baptized is preserved. Later, when Father Eymard came back to his native town, he never missed venerating the baptistery of his parish, just as he loved to celebrate the anniversary of his baptism and recall it to his godmother. He wrote on 5 February 1846: I can t resist the pleasure of writing to you two words today. I prayed hard to the Good God for you, for our father, our mother, my godfather. You can guess why! This is such a beautiful day for me, this is the most beautiful day of my life: it is today that I had the joy of being baptized. ( ) I owe you much, my dear godmother, for all the vigilance that you exercised over me during my youth, and for all these pious practices that you prompted me to follow. Today all the period of my early years are present in a particular way, and I see there a great grace. (Letter to Marianne, 5 February 1846, CO 68.) As regards his name Julian, it was that of his father and the same as given to many of his brothers. One can imagine that it is a reminder of the holy patron of the parish of Auris, St Julien de Brioude, whose relic is kept in the church there. Baptized at La Mure, Peter-Julian would preserve in his name the memory of his ancestors of Oisans. On 22 May 1822 he received the sacrament of confirmation from the hands of the Bishop of Grenoble, Claude Simon, who had ordained a priest in 1815 the holy parish priest of Ars, John Vianney. Peter-Julian had to wait another year before making his First Communion. A month before this event, Peter-Julian wrote in a little booklet his final preparations, acts before and after Communion, as well as his fervent resolutions. It was on 16 March 1823, Passion Sunday, that Peter-Julian had the joy of receiving for the first time the Body of the Lord. His recollection of this event are preserved in the following words: When I pressed Jesus to my heart: I shall be a priest, I told him, I promise you! Thirty years later, this memory brought tears to Father Eymard: What graces the Lord gave me at my First Communion, he said! Yes, I believe that my conversion was then sincere and perfect. (Tesnièr, Eymard, p.10 and cf. Annual Retreat 1849, NR 35,5.) In this same church at La Mure, Father Eymard, during his visits to his sisters, celebrated the holy Eucharist. His preaching from the pulpit that still exists attracted the people of La Mure. Here in this church also his requiem was celebrated on 2 August At the entry of the cemetery we have his tomb and the graves of his sisters. 4

5 The stained glass windows of Eymard Chapel In the chapel today we have four stained glass windows that recall some episodes from the life of Father Eymard. To the left side of the choir, the window, depicting the scene of the little Peter-Julian discovered on a stool behind the altar, recalls the words: I m thinking of him; this is where I listen to him and hear him better. One can say that Father Eymard lived his whole life listening to God and under the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. He wrote: 3 The Carmelite Brother of the Child Jesus says that a friend wouldn t pass by his friend without saying a word. Well, I must also often pay a visit to my beloved (above) all. (Collection of Personal Notes 1823, NR 3,6 ; OC V,30.) The center window presents a traditional image of Father Eymard carrying a monstrance. A text expresses well his faith in the Eucharist: The greatest grace of my life has been a lively faith in the most Blessed Sacrament from my childhood: a grace of Communion: the desire of my eight [year]: everything toward this grace of devotion: daily visit to the most Blessed Sacrament grace of vocation: at Fourvière: Our Lord is in the most Blessed Sacrament alone with a body of religious to keep watch before him, honor him, glorify him! Why not set us something, a Third Order, etc. At La Seyne (on the feast of St Joseph), a grace of donation, fusion, happiness, and this lasted until the apostolic approbation, so gentle grace of apostolate: faith in Jesus. Jesus is there. So, go to him, for [through] him, in him. (Retreat at St Maurice, NR 45.) The window at the right has the scene of the young Peter-Julian studying Latin in a hiding-place, overshadowed by his father s hired worker, with the inscription: I want to learn Latin to be a priest. When he was 11 years old, before his First Communion, he had permission from his parents to make a pilgrimage to the church of Our Lady of Laus, the renowned Marian sanctuary in the region. He walked there, travelling the 70 kilometers alone, begging for his food. He received many graces. It is there, he later said, that for the first time I loved Mary. He returned there after his First Communion, and spoke to Father Touche, a missionary of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who welcomed him with particular care. Peter-Julian confided to him his desire to be a priest and the difficulties he was up against from his father. For Father Touche the matter was clear and he strengthened the youth in his project: My friend, you aren t were God wants you. You must become a priest! And regarding his father s opposition, he added: There is no but, my friend. You must learn Latin. And moreover, you will receive Communion every Sunday. Father Eymard met many obstacles and had to overcome them before realizing his life s ideal. A fourth window is situated in the side chapel. It recalls the scene of the last Mass celebrated by Father Chanuet in Father Eymard s room: Our Lord requires from me so much sensitivity that this must be soon the end. (Phrase attributed to Father Eymard in the Spring of 1868, A. Tesnière, Eymard, p.125.) Above we can see two representations of the Virgin Mary: at the left, Our Lady of Laus and on the right Our Lady of La Salette. Father Eymard was convinced that the Virgin Mary accompanied him throughout his life. He wrote in his notes: I meditated on the love of the most holy Virgin towards me since my childhood. I gave thanks for Our Lady of Laus and the day when I took her as my mother when my poor (earthly) mother died! And then, what graces! I asked her when at her feet in the chapel of Saint-Robert to be a priest one day! How she all alone led me by the hand to the priesthood! Then to the most Blessed Sacrament. (Great Retreat of Rome, 1865, 17 March 1865, NR 44, 109.) Fr Manuel BARBIERO, sss Person Responsible for the Centre Eymard La Mure, June

Peter Julian Eymard. Detail of a photo from the 1860s.

Peter Julian Eymard. Detail of a photo from the 1860s. The archives possess about fifteen photographs: they all show the same eyes, whatever the pose, on an angular Matheysin face with sharp bones and