Liesse - more
Dehon and Notre Dame de Liesse
Notre Dame de Liesse (Liesse means ‘joy’) was in Dehon’s time the most famous Marian shrine in the diocese of Soissons.
P. Dehon went to Notre Dame de Liesse on several and very different occasions. For the first time he mentioned this pilgrimage in 1857 when his entire family went there:
"I liked the mystery of this pious shrine. The ex-voto-boards strengthened my confidence. I prayed with all my heart." (NHV I/30r)
In 1873 Dehon takes part in a pilgrimage to Notre Dame de Liesse. This pilgrimage had a significance even on the national level. The national movement of the Catholic worker circles under the direction of Albert de Mun - founded only one year before - invited Dehon to his first national pilgrimage. It was also due to the new technical possibilities such as posters and magazines for advertisement, group tariffs and special reduction for railways tickets etc. that the pilgrimage on 17 August 1873 had over 10,000 participants (according to de Mun) a huge success. From then on for many years de Mun’s Catholic worker circles would dominate French social Catholicism.
For Dehon, who founded at St. Quentin a youth club (patronage) and previously a workers’ circle, the participation in this pilgrimage was an unforgettable experience:
"17 August [ 1873 ], an unforgettable day: the great pilgrimage of the Catholic worker circles to Notre Dame de Liesse... It was like a view of the Catholic avant-garde of France. The men sang and prayed... The workers of Val de Bois had come with their fanfares, the miners of Lens, Anzin and Béthune with their symbolic mine lamps. It was like a dream, like the vision of ancient Catholic France." (NHV X/5f)
On this occasion Dehon gets into contact with Albert de Mun, and like many other worker circles, Dehon also decides after the experiences of Notre Dame de Liesse to join de Mun’s Union of Catholic worker circles.
In 1875 Dehon himself as a secretary of the diocesan office of the Catholic associations prepares and organises the first annual meeting in Notre Dame de Liesse. On this occasion Dehon gives a lecture with an - apparently frustrating - overview about the pastoral activities in the diocese of Soissons. More than 200 priests and laymen from all parts of the diocese participate on March 10-11, 1875 about this meeting. Fr. Dehon is happy, enthusiastic: "What wonderful days! It was the best moment in my diocesan ministry." (NHV XI/93)