IN PICTURES – An object that belonged to Molière’s family is hidden in a church in Mayenne

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Assé-le-Bérenger, a small town of 450 inhabitants, has a link with Molière, the illustrious playwright and comedian of the seventeenth century. To understand this link between Molière, whose real name is Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, and this town in Eastern Mayenne, you have to take a look around the village church.

An object offered by the cousin of Molière

Near the entrance to the nave are a baptismal font, a kind of tank in which holy water is put for baptisms. For many devotees it may seem ordinary, but one only has to look closer to see its specialness. “On this copper lid, we can see the coat of arms of the Poquelin family“, describes François Leroux, mayor of the town.

In 1701, Jean Poquelin, parish priest, donated this family heirloom to the church of Assé-le-Bérenger, in Mayenne. © Radio France
– Cecile Da Costa

It is then enough to read the text, in French or in Latin, to understand that the object belonging to the family of Molière had been offered to the church by Jean Poquelin, first cousin of Molière and parish priest, May 15, 1701. The story is all the more incredible as these baptismal fonts are one of the few Poquelin-related objects still in good condition today. The only one that directly belonged to the playwright is Molière’s armchair, now kept at the Comédie Française in Paris.

The baptismal font offered by Jean Poquelin is rather well preserved, only the foot of the basin is cracked.
The baptismal font offered by Jean Poquelin is rather well preserved, only the foot of the basin is cracked. © Radio France
– Cecile Da Costa

Celebrating the heritage of your town

This link with Molière’s family, François Leroux discovered it while reading. “When I arrived in the town, about forty years ago, I learned a lot about the history of the village thanks to the dictionaries of Abbé Angot“, he says. In this series of dictionaries retracing the history of Mayennehe came face to face with the name of Jean Poquelin and continued his research until he discovered the history of these baptismal fonts.

It is thanks to the dictionaries of the Abbé Angot, which trace the history of Mayenne, that François Leroux rediscovered this link between the family of Molière and his commune.
It is thanks to the dictionaries of the Abbé Angot, which trace the history of Mayenne, that François Leroux rediscovered this link between the family of Molière and his commune. © Radio France
– Cecile Da Costa
In four volumes, Abbé Angot's dictionary traces the history of the department, and in particular of the town of Assé-le-Bérenger.
In four volumes, Abbé Angot’s dictionary traces the history of the department, and in particular of the town of Assé-le-Bérenger. © Radio France
– Cecile Da Costa

This story is still relatively unknown to the locals. So François Leroux decided to organize a “Molière Day” to celebrate the history of his commune, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the birth of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. “Assé-le-Bérenger is a place where people pass but do not stop“, regrets the mayor. “We don’t even have businesses, so we have to find something else to attract people.” The goal is more broadly for him to prove that “Mayenne is a very cultural territory, it is not a hole where there are only cows”.

François Leroux, mayor of the town and organizer of Molière Day in Assé-le-Bérenger, in Mayenne
François Leroux, mayor of the town and organizer of Molière Day in Assé-le-Bérenger, in Mayenne © Radio France
– Cecile Da Costa

On the program for this Molière day in Assé-le-Bérenger:

  • 4 p.m., guided tour of the church and the village, focusing in particular on the Poquelin family
  • 6 p.m., concert by the Il Ballo ensemble in the Saint-Thuribe church. Music from the ballet comedies of Molière-Lully
  • 8 p.m., dinner in the village hall
  • 10:30 p.m., open-air cinema, with the screening of The Miserwith Louis de Funès

FREE ENTRANCE for the whole day.


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