The Fondeville Notebook (6)

The more you have the more you want, as the saying goes. As M. Garicoits contemplated the abundant fruits of having a high class school in the building under the direction of M. Didace Barbe, he decided that the Congregation would recruit more easily in an institution where Latin was on the curriculum.

He judged that the time was ripe, just as M. Gaya wanted to withdraw from his parish ministry knowing that he had a BA. M. Gaya couldn’t resist such a sign of trust and so it was that after his holidays in 1847 the Institution opened and the number of pupils reached 200.

In 1848 the Congregation obtained from the Bishop the permission to elect its own superior. The election was conducted with all the seriousness of a conclave and M. Garicoits was elected unanimously. A solemn Te Deum was sung immediately. At the same session the council consisting of Messrs Guimon, Didace Barbe and Chirou was renewed. The latter was named assistant and bursar at the same time.

To this must be added the purchase of the Esquerre property, situated in Montaut to the north of the village. By this time Betharram had enrolled several brothers; they were already more than 14 or 15 and for vegetable patch there was only the little garden near the Gave. This property was bought for 10 or 12000 francs. It was called Ste Marie and rightly so since the price was found by our Foundress Marie. She made use of the generosity of M. Delestre to raise three quarters of the sum needed. He was a retired army officer whom she had invited to her sanctuary. This God fearing man from Burgundy was holed up in this part of the world as the result of a fall from his horse. He had the opportunity of making several trips in the area, he liked what he saw as well as the devotions at Betharram; finally he settled there in 1848.

Meanwhile the Bishop had bought the old manor house, Moncade in Orthez. He entrusted it to the Congregation and M. Perguilhem was appointed first superior; M. Barbe was sent with him as well as a few students to open a primary school. M. Serres, a priest with a BA, raised it in 1852 to the rank of an institution where teaching continued to year 3. Soon the conduct of the masters and pupils gave such pleasure to the town, as well as the progress made in their studies, that everyone wanted a free school so the local council offered the old college to the Congregation.

In 1852 the Bishop bought the old convent in Mauleon to open a boarding school. M. Romain Bourdenne, ordained in 1853, was appointed to this establishment with M. Goailhard and M. Saubatte until 1856.

Already in 1851 the Bishop had had the church of St Louis de Gonzague built in Pau as a special vicariate. His Lordship appointed M. Vignau as Vicar in 1852 and gave him M. Lassus as assistant. They were living in the rue Lamothe where they had an apartment. Soon the purchase of Lacortiade House on the High Street by the Bishop for his pied-a-terre in Pau afforded the Congregation with a beautiful spacious house. That too was the work of Our Lady of Betharram.

Our Lady of Betharram continued to be the refuge of sinners, the consolation of the afflicted and the handicapped for in the missions in Orthez, Mauleon and Pau there was much talk about Our Lady of Betharram and of the wonders which she continued to do in her chapel. The unfortunate husbands and wives were punished and soon returned to the rules of chastity and to what was their duty. The youth learned how to discern their vocation; great projects for marriage reached their climax and consequently lives of crime gave way to a Christian way of living. In missions and jubilees where she sent her workers Our Lady of Betharram consoled those souls slaves of sin and overcome with remorse. These workers were formed in her own sanctuary. They had opened the eyes of the people; they had prayed for the sick and if the sickness was going to be long and resisting the art of the specialists, if the symptoms were unusual, then a visit to the sanctuary was often suggested. There Mary would have a novena of prayers suggested to them. She would have a medal showing her statue, or an image of her chapel to be worn; she would have them make a vow to visit the hallowed place, the Calvary, the tomb of the venerable superior two or three times according to the distance separating them. It would be interesting to know how many cases of epilepsy were cured! For 32 years women obtained in Betharram the grace to offer to the Lord the children they wanted. People overcome by the loss of animals or by other misfortunes on the land or in the sheepfold would receive pictures with the monogram JMJ, or the invocation “Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us”. For the fields medals were usually given; the novena was always recommended together with trust in Our Lady and followed by a genuine conversion.

Simon Fondeville scj
(1805-1872)
(to be continued)