The Vendée church unveiled a plaque on Sunday in memory of dozens of children abused by priests in the region in recent decades, a first in France.

The emotion was high in Luçon, where several victims attended a religious ceremony punctuated by official apologies.

REPORT

For several decades, at least 65 children have been abused by priests in Vendée.

A book published in 2018 broke the silence and caused a shower of testimonies that led to the identification of 43 attackers, including 36 priests.

Many victims, now adults, were present Sunday for a repentance ceremony organized by the bishop, with a commemorative plaque unveiled within the cathedral of Luçon itself.

A first in France, which Europe 1 attended. 

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The emotion of the victims 

Michel was abused when he was eight and a half years old.

"The more I went towards the cathedral, the less I wanted to come. The little boy in me rose to the surface," he testifies.

He had been waiting for this recognition on the part of the Church for more than fifty years.

"It's engraved, it's a step," he said with relief. 

What is engraved is also the prayer of repentance, pronounced a few minutes before by Monsignor François Jacolin and which now appears on a plaque unveiled in the cathedral of Luçon.

The institution as a whole is called into question, as the bishop recalled during a penitential ceremony.

"This applies to those who have abused children and it also applies to Church leaders who, out of cowardice, have not allowed the truth to come to light," said Monsignor Jacolin. 

@LOIC VENANCE / AFP

"Still a long way to go" 

In the assembly, priests or seminarians were also present.

"Already at the very beginning of the training, we learn to manage all these questions of affectivity. There is this awareness that we must support people on all levels," says Eudes, in the first year of religious studies. 

Support which will first require national recognition because for the time being, the Vendée initiative remains the first and above all the only one in the country.

"There is still a long way to go within the Church," concludes one victim.