Music, red tablecloths and party favors. It doesn’t take much more to give the large parish hall an air of celebration. In this 300-seat space, around a hundred people, often alone the rest of the year, were able to celebrate the joy of being together around a good New Year’s Eve meal, thanks to the “fraternoël” of the Secours Catholique de Belfort.
– Nicolas joly
“It’s like a family”
Christelle, 24, comes every year to celebrate Christmas with the beneficiaries of Secours Catholique. “We eat very well, we have a good time, we have a good time with everyone. People I know, whom I often meet, it’s like a family for me”, she says. Like everyone here, she hides a difficult life course behind a smile. “I live on my own, my dad abandoned me at the age of 10 and since then I have lived with my mother”, she confides.
– Nicolas joly
Janick is also a regular, beneficiary of Catholic relief for several years. He relies a lot on these moments of sharing: “There are people who are at home, who have nothing, who can’t even have a soup tonight, who can’t even have a glass to drink. Right now, I am,” he declares. According to him, these little annual evenings mean a lot more than they seem to those in need. “It’s a moment they won’t forget. If they had been home, they wouldn’t have this mirth.”
Reconciling fraternity and Covid-19
After a hearty meal, it’s time to exchange gifts. We avoid hugs, Covid-19 requires. There are also some empty chairs, because the association had to refuse people to respect the gauge of the room. A heartbreak for Marie Besançon, animator of Secours Catholique. “Normally, we do not strictly refuse anyone”, she says, “I won’t hide from you that it is a knot in the stomach, to tell me that there are people for whom we will not be here tonight”.
– Nicolas joly
– Nicolas joly