Rebuilding the Ruined Churches of France

Extract

With the beginning of Lent the bishops of nine of the French dioceses in the devastated districts issued an appeal to the public for a loan of 200 million francs. The experiment is in itself a very considerable contribution to solving the problem of reconstruction in the Regions Libérées.

Of the twelve dioceses which suffered partial or complete devastation in the war only nine are included in the list of co-operative reconstruction societies in whose names this appeal for public subscriptions is issued. The diocese of Nancy, which was the first to originate the idea of applying to the reconstruction of the ruined churches the legal privileges accorded to important syndicates of claimants to reparation money, has already successfully floated a preliminary loan for 15 million francs on its own account. It speaks well for the success of this more ambitious project that the whole amount asked for by the diocese of Nancy was subscribed locally within a few weeks. The present issue is the result of an agreement among the nine dioceses which suffered the most serious devastation, that they would make a joint appeal to the public so that none should be penalised by being behindhand in organising the necessary co-operative societies.

The prospectus of the loan has now been distributed, and the first subscriptions are beginning to come in. There is no doubt, however, that the large amount asked for will take some time to materialise.

Even the 200 million francs is only a fraction of the total amount that will be required to repair all the three thousand ruined churches of the Regions Liberies, and it is as well to state at once that the promoters of the loan are anxious to collect money wherever they can find generous friends.