The project of the Path of the Wise was born during a session of the Council of Elders, made up of 9 women and 9 men aged 60 and over, chosen for their wise experience by the Municipal Councillors. On that day, the subject of reflection was the question of how to bring our republican motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” to life?
The birth of the Path of the Sages
The idea germinated that sprinkle the city with sentences emanating from famous women and men, globally recognized for their wisdom and their humanism, could challenge the awareness of passers-by Borméens as tourists. In order to justify this bold and innovative project in the eyes of the Mayor and his Municipal Council, the decision is taken to combine this route with historical plaques which were to be installed on the city's emblematic monuments. The members of the Council of Elders then determined the route of this path within the medieval village and worked on the support, texts, images and symbols of these plates.
Le butterfly symbol is chosen because it represents joy, beauty, grace and lightness of being. It refers to the power of personal transformation by its strong power of rebirth. Indeed, before being a butterfly, this insect is first an egg, then it becomes a caterpillar before being a chrysalis and finally a butterfly. Each new step symbolizes a change in life, the let go on what you were to appreciate what you have become. As a symbol of wisdom, This animal is a source of inspiration in life. Under his fragile appearances,
The butterfly has a great strength. Indeed, his life is fleeting (life span of a few days to a few weeks) and yet, it spreads joy and good humor by the grace and beauty of its flight, enjoying every moment that nature offers it. So why not do like the butterfly, to approach with confidence everything that life offers us, good or bad experience, because after all it only lasts a moment. These These experiences are not the past the better preparation for the future allowing us to move forward more serenely on the paths of life?
The biography of Abbé Pierre
A life serving the most deprived: “Brother of the poor, provocateur of Peace”.
Marie Joseph Henri Grouès, born August 5, 1912 in Lyon, studies at the Jesuits then engages in the scouting in 1925 which would mark his entire life. On returning from a school trip to Rome in 1927, he discovered during the stopover in Assisi, the life of Saint Francis which directs its religious vocation. But the one the scouts had nicknamed “meditative beaver” still hesitates between reflection and action : to go “to the desert to think only of Jesus” or to fight “on enemy territory, to battle by campaigning with great force”.
Henri Grouès returns home Capuchin monks at 19, the most austere branch of the Franciscans and took his vows on January 3, 1937 then is ordained priest in August 1938. Discovering the horrors of the persecution of Jews and patriots, he joins the Resistance in July 1942 and takes several clandestine identitiess including that of“Abbé Pierre”, in order not to be spotted by the Gestapo and the police of the Vichy regime. He sets up passage channels in the Alps and creates at his home a ID card manufacturing laboratory. In February 1943, a law established the Compulsory work service (STO) in Germany; Abbé Pierre created maquis for young people who refused to join the STO and, in April 1943, a newsletter for them, for which he needed a secretary.
He then meets Lucie Coutaz, originally a social worker, she became her loyal collaborator for 39 years, will accompany him in all his battles and will be co-founder of Emmaüs. In May 1944, his superiors ordered him to cross the Pyrenees clandestinely to join de Gaulle in Algiers. After the war, Abbé Pierre was asked to enter policy and is elected as MP from 1945 to 1951. En 1947, he rents a large dilapidated house in Neuilly-Plaisance and founded Emmaus. True to his ideal, he opened a international youth hostel, to welcome girls and boys “whose fathers had killed each other a short time before and who discovered, when peace returned, of what abomination Man had been capable”.
In 1949, Abbé Pierre met Georges Legay, who became the first companion of Emmaus. The first community is created in Neuilly-Plaisance. To finance its activities, he participated in the game in 1952 “Double or nothing” on Radio Luxembourg, and won 256 francs which allow you to acquire a truck and new land. Through the patrols he carries out, Abbé Pierre realizes the urgency of the situation for the poorly housed. Revolted and affected by the situation, he send a call February 1, 1954. This leads to a great surge of popular solidarity, and the long-awaited political response to housing construction.
During his trips, shares the Emmaüs experience and inspires the creation of Emmaüs groups in many countries in Europe, South America and Asia. In 1963, having survived a shipwreck, he understood the urgency and the necessity of creating a structure to unite all these groups. “Brother of the poor, provocateur of Peace” : this expression, placed by Abbé Pierre at the head of his 1967 curriculum vitae, is a real common thread: it gives us the ultimate goal of his multiple fights on a global scale throughout his life, many of which have earned him international fame. In addition to the MUCM which has become Universal Movement for a World Federation (MUFM), Abbé Pierre was the founder, leader or simple member of many federalist, global or European organizations. On January 22, 2007, he died at the Val-de-Grace hospital in Paris.
The Chapel of Saint Francis
La Saint Francis Chapel of Paule and its adjoining ancient cemetery are places steeped in history in Bormes les Mimosas. The history of the chapel dates back to the time of King Louis XI, who, feeling near the end of his life in 1483, calls on an Italian monk renamed: Francis of Paula. The monk and his companions crossed the rough seas to reach France, but were faced with port closures because of the plague epidemic which was raging in the country. Saint-François de Paule finds shelter and hospitality village of Bormes. In recognition of these welcome moments of rest, he promises to protect the village from the epidemic. En 1519 after his canonization, to The inhabitants of Bormes had a chapel built for him.
The history of the chapel is linked to the Brotherhood of the Penitents of Saint Francis, created in 1576 in Bormes. Initially established in the Saint Sebastian chapel, the brotherhood transfers its seat in the Saint-François chapel on April 25, 1653. The construction of the latter extends approximately from 1519 to 1653, but it is impossible to trace its origin precisely. 1653 to 1773, the chapel serves exclusively from the seat of the brotherhood White Penitents. Then, 1773 to 1783, it is also used as parish during the construction of Saint-Trophyme Church current. In 1791,, the chapel is sold as national property and intended to be transformed into a mill, but she is bought by the Penitents in 1828. The latter occupied it until their disappearance in 1872.
The Saint-François Chapel of Paule is a classified site since July 13, 1926, as “natural site and monument of artistic character”. She is also listed as “Village and its surroundings” since February 12, 1962 and classified as a Historic Monument since April 11, 1963. She is today a communal property. It is distinguished by its exceptional position and its picturesque value. Many artists, painters, designers and photographers have tried to capture his physiognomy. Among them, Jean Charles Cazin devoted much of his artistic life to this site. Inside the chapel, one can admire a 17th-century gilded wooden altarpiece above the white marble High Altar, as well as statues of Saint Francis of Paola dating from the end of the 18th century.
In 2020, several classified objects were present in the chapel, including paintings and reliquary statues.
Also find the Path of the Sages on Baludik!
To discover the fun and geolocated route, scan this QR code. Games and surprises await you with the Baludik application.