An Altar for our Lady
Dear Friends,
We are requesting your help to build the master altar of our conventual Church Our Lady of the Rosary. In the lineage of historic medieval altars, this altar will be a catechism in pictures, "an altar that preaches" - as much to the wise as to the simple. With your help, in two years it will spring up in the sanctuary as the arrow of an infallible prayer: that of the sacrifice of Christ.
Fr. Louis-Marie de Blignières
Prior of the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer
An iconographic project worthy of the Middle Ages
Was the project for this high altar planned when your church was first built?
« Not at all. We knew that one day we would have to build an altar, but no further plans were made. I must admit that we sounded out many options. We approached several artists, who had interesting and high quality projects to offer. But, after submitting them to our community’s discernment, no consensus was reached. Nothing really won everyone over.
The church had to be fully completed, and we needed to celebrate the liturgy there for several months, before we could begin to have a feel for the venue, and the way in which we wanted to organize it. Remember, for over thirty years, the community celebrated the liturgy in the old commons, which had been ingeniously transformed into a chapel. Then we moved from this small, rather dark volume without acoustics, to a large, very bright volume, with a long echo duration. The necessary adaptation time explains the first stages of trial and error we had to go through. »
"The most beautiful altar of my career"
"But who can, today, complete such a project?"
It is true that often the works of sacred art for the past fifty years have been poor. But, thanks to our friend Bishop Athanasius Schneider, we have discovered an artisan capable of realizing this project: Mr. Remy Insam. He comes from an ancient dynasty of wood sculptors in the Tyrolean village of Sankt-Ulrich. For forty years, Mr. Insam has built sculpted wood altars. Most notably, he has completed the Gothic master altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima in the diocese of Karaganda in Kazakhstan. Our altar will be his last work before retiring. In his own words, this will be "the most beautiful altar of his career."
With your help :
Summer 2023: delivery and installation of the altar
Saturday October 7, 2023, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary: inauguration of the altar
The Fraternity thanks you
All the donors will be included in a easter novena of masses
that the Prior of the Fraternity will celebrate from April 9th to April 17th 2023 for your intentions.
You can send us your intention on the donation form.
Major Donors ($2000+):
In December 2023, you will receive a souvenir book of the Rosary altar, with large photos of the construction, the completed altar and its inauguration. This book will be printed in a strictly limited edition of 100 copies.
Patrons ($5000+)
You will also receive a bronze replica of one of the bas-reliefs that adorn the bells of our new conventual church, depicting St. Dominic, St. Vincent Ferrier, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine of Siena. These were molded by Cornille Havard, a bell-maker in Villedieu-les-Poêles, Normandy where bells for all of Europe have been made since the Middle Ages."
Founding patrons ($10,000):
You will also be enrolled in a perpetual foundation of Masses: every October 7, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Holy Sacrifice will be offered on the high altar for you and your descendants. You will also be listed on a plaque on the back of the altar. The foundation will remain in effect as long as priests of the Fraternity celebrate Mass on it (hopefully for a VERY LONG TIME !)
For donations from 10,000 USD we can issue a tax receipt valid for the USA through a local foundation. In this case, please contact us before making your donation.
Fraternité Saint-Vincent-Ferrier
53340 Chémeré-le-Roi
France
www.chemere.org (french)
www.vincentferrer.org (english)