Abbé Chemin's funeral in Vierville-sur-Mer

A considerable crowd attended the funeral of Abbé Chemin in the parish church of Vierville. The ceremony was celebrated by Abbé Gouget, parish priest of Formigny, under the chairmanship of Bishop Châtillon, vicar general. The corners of the sheet were held by Messrs. Legallois, Mayor of Saint-Laurent, Grosmelon, Mayor of Louvières, Ygouf and Le Terrier, as well as by the parish priests of Blay and Saint-Martin-des-Besaces. Michel Hardelay, mayor of Vierville, wore the candle of honor.

Among the audience were Mr. Vautier, general councilor, mayors of municipalities, school children, patriotic societies and many representatives of the clergy, including Abbés Averland, parish priest and dean of Trévières, and Quesnel, parish priest-dean of Saint-Clair-sur-Elle.

In his speech, Abbé Averland conveyed to the family, mayors and parishioners of the three served municipalities the condolences of Bishop Jacquemin, bishop of the diocese, and those of the clergy. He announced that Abbé Gouget would provisionally provide the services of the three parishes. A thirtieth-day memorial service was scheduled in the provisional chapel of Vierville on March 5 at 10:30 a.m.; masses were also to be celebrated in Saint-Laurent and Louvières at the initiative of the Catholic Action groups. According to the wishes of the inhabitants, a tombstone would be placed on the priest's grave. A collection was organized; donations could be entrusted to the mayors of the three municipalities or to the deanery of Trévières.

The tribute then retraced his life. Born on March 12, 1909 in Ernée, in the diocese of Laval, Abbé Chemin had known suffering from his youth. He had first worked as a mechanic and locksmith before feeling, around the age of twenty-second, his religious vocation. He had studied in Pontmain, then in Rome with the Oblate Fathers. The disease had forced him to rest for a long time in Switzerland. On his return, he had gone through a serious crisis of conscience; a stay in Epron, with Father Robert, had helped him. The story then evokes the war from 1939, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the return by England.

The newspaper presents him as the first priest ordained in the Basilica of Lisieux by Bishop Falaize. He had worked in Saint-Just, near Vernon, before Bishop Picaud integrated him into the diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux and entrusted him, in 1946, with Vierville, Saint-Laurent and Louvières.

Abbé Averland greeted a generous priest, attached to poverty experienced as a virtue and convinced of the power of prayer. He described an affable, helpful man who was particularly close to the most humble, whose disappearance aroused a strong emotion. The cut ends with the newspaper's condolences to the bereaved.

Reconstructed or uncertain passages:
- The year 1958 is given by the name of the file; no publication date is visible on the image.
- The mention "first priest ordained in the Basilica of Lisieux" is reported by the newspaper; the denomination does not give the date of this ordination.

Archive image: https://vierville.cordelle.eu/Photos2008/1958-AbbeChemin1958.jpg