Saint-Merry Outside the Walls, a "progressive" post-Vatican II Catholic community in central Paris that was closed more than two years ago by the archbishop at the time, is set to get a new lease on life from the man currently heading the archdiocese.
The community issued a statement on June 12, one day after its annual meeting, saying its members welcomed the decision of Archbishop Laurent Ulrich to help resurrect the now-nomadic group and find a permanent location for it.
Ulrich's predecessor, Archbishop Michel Aupetit, closed the pastoral center in March 2021 due to problems of co-management. But Saint-Merry's pastoral team met with Archbishop Ulrich and his vicar general, Msgr. Emmanuel Tois, last May to discuss the community's future. Tois then met with all the members of the community in mid-June and announced three concrete developments.
First, the archbishop has decided to appoint a 'priest companion' to the community. Second, a new 'mission statement' will be drafted to better define the pastoral vision that the late Cardinal François Marty entrusted to the community when he founded it in 1975. The cardinal asked the Saint-Merry to look for new ways of being Church in society, closer to all those estranged from or wounded by the institution.
And, finally, Archbishop Ulrich has decided to "search for a 'new place' to embody this mission".
"Relief"
The members of the former pastoral center, which was originally located in a vibrant neighborhood on the Right Bank about a half-mile from Notre-Dame Cathedral, welcomed the developments. Guy Aurenche, the community's spokesperson, said members received the news "with very positive relief, without recrimination, but with the feeling that our case has been taken seriously at the diocesan level".
Without knowing yet any further details about the priest who might be in charge of this accompaniment or about their future place of mission, Aurenche also welcomed "Archbishop Ulrich's invitation to see the community continue to play a creative role – however modest it may be – through the announcement of this new mission statement".
"End of the year 2023"
Mgr. Tois said on June 12 that this process should "bear fruit by the end of 2023," according to the Saint-Merry press release. "The renewed dialogue and the rebuilt trust give hope of renewal to the community that is at the service of proclaiming the Gospel, in communion with the Church of Paris," the communique said.
It then assured that "at a time when the Church must be more than ever on the lookout for ways to be present and to express its mission in a variety of forms, Saint-Merry Outside the Walls, rich in its past and present, at the crossroads of society's expectations and the Gospel message, wishes to participate fully in the process".