Our Lady of Welcome of Vergèze

The history of our church begins with the arrival of the FRONDAS family in Vergèze in 1934. Charles FRONDAS, then a football fan, had his villa built with a huge hangar for his transport company at 182 avenue Emile JAMAIS.

He later set up a small factory in the room below the priest's current apartment, where he made straw for the export of PERRIER bottles.

The current narthex was a greasing deck, the reception rooms, Saint André and Saint Félix were offices. Between the villa and the offices, everything was covered, as was the rear of the narthex, which served as a garage and warehouses.

The PERRIER source having offered Mr. FRONDAS a location in CONTREXEVILLE, the latter closed his business. This group of buildings was therefore put up for sale and Father Paul CAVALIER, in 1966, became the buyer, wanting a large church between the two villages for major celebrations: communions, Midnight Mass, Easter Vigil, etc.

Following this decision, it was necessary to find funds. Father CAVALIER decided to inform the parishioners of Vergèze and Codognan of this purchase, as he did not have all the necessary money.

In order to provide its financing, a committee of the two villages was created, the office being composed of two members from Vergèze and two members from Codognan:

- President: Mr. Fernand LACOMBE de Vergèze,

- Vice-president: Mr. Luis JOURDAN de Codognan,

- Secretary: Mr. Roger MAZEL from Vergèze,

- Treasurer: Miss Jacqueline ANDRE de Codognan.

An initial down payment was made with a 5% loan. The committee and office members proposed a subscription, to which were added donations, collections from Vergèze and Codognan, as well as lotteries, sales of earpieces, recreational sessions, and fairs (one in Vergèze and one in Codognan).

In Codognan, a plot of land adjoining the church was sold to a private individual, and this sum was added to the remainder. Little by little, the subscriptions were repaid with interest, while in Vergèze, the presbytery was sold by the town hall.

Once the roof of the new "church" was fitted out by Mr. ANDRE, the current ceiling was made by craftsmen from Vergèze, Messrs. ROSSIGNOLO and ARCARO (grandfather of Abbot William-Marie MERCHAT). The floor, a little cemented, was gradually paved with the help of the parishioners, who were invited to offer the slabs. The main entrance door, coming from the castle of Caissargue, property of the bishopric, was offered and the finished church received the name of Notre-Dame d'Accueil, suggested by Abbot CAVALIER.

During the ministry of Father Maurice ARCHET (1984-1987), a stained-glass window, created by Paule BROUARD, artist and parishioner of Vergèze, adorned this building. Later, the Economic Council and Father André DUBE (1987-1997), after several approaches to the bishopric, decided to build a bell tower for this church.

Two bells were cast and named one Louise-Marie (the large one) and the other Bernadette-André (the small one). They were blessed on September 25, 1994 by Monsignor Jean CADILHAC.

In 1999, Father Jean-François ARLAC (1997-2005) restored the church to its current configuration, adorning the choir with a fresco representing the Visitation after Fra-Angelico, again thanks to the talent of Paule BROUARD. In the same year, a marble altar was added to complete the layout of the choir, whose central motif, representing the Chrism, was used as the parish seal in 2006.

Projects concerning our church remain to be carried out: an ambo (place for proclaiming the Word of God), a baptismal font as well as stained glass windows.

According to Jacqueline and Monique CHABOUD.