the temple of Argentinian rugby is located in the Landes

We can easily imagine Father Michel Devert, a few years ago, taking advantage of the discretion of his Notre-Dame du rugby chapel, nestled at the top of a small green hill overlooking the Adour, to mimic a few rugby gestures, cassock flying, out of sight. Because the work of his life, this place of meditation for the oval ball community, is only revealed to those in the know, to those who have heard of this mausoleum where we pay homage to those who died in rugby.

There are of course the local rugby enthusiasts, the small local clubs. But also those of France, and of the World. There are objects from five continents, dozens of countries, land with unsuspected rugby culture. And then there are the Argentines.

Quite inexplicably, the Argentines have forged a very strong relationship with the Chapel. His Virgin, Our Lady of rugby, has become over the years an icon deified by many Argentinian clubs.

Over there, across the Atlantic, more than 11,000 kilometers from Larrivière Saint-Savin (the town of 600 inhabitants in which the Chapel is administratively located) is reproduced a multitude of copies of the Lady receiving an oval balloon of little Jesus.

As a result, Argentines are the foreigners who send the most jerseys to the Chapel, according to Morgan Bignet, vice-president of the Friends of Notre-Dame du rugby and responsible for the collection and management of jerseys. “This Virgin shines everywhere in Argentina. And they know it, the players, the coaches, the leaders of amateur clubs over there, when they see it, that the first statue comes from here in the Landes. So they send jerseys. Clearly, the colors of Argentina are the most present in the Chapel, apart from those of France obviously “ How to explain this link?

According to him, there is no real reason. “Many Argentines play in France. There is perhaps one who came to visit the Chapel, who liked the statue, and who returned to reproduce it for his club. I do not know”. The fervor of some Argentinian rugby enthusiasts for this Virgin has even reached … the office of Pope Francis, in the Vatican.

It might make you smile, but it is a very serious matter for some. Until the point where an Argentinian mother, a few years ago, went out of her way to come, in person, to hang the jersey of her deceased son Alexander on the walls of the building. A year after her journey, she returned to France to celebrate Pentecost Monday, at the Notre-Dame du rugby chapel.