All Christians want to go to Heaven, including priests, but it rarely happens that they decide to do so. getting on a plane and then free falling, forming a cross.
This is how it happened in the skies of the diocese of Gap, in the French High Alps, at the Tallard aerodrome, this past day of Pentecost. Many Christians are asked to “step in faith” or “leap,” but these four clergymen did it “high.”
The 4 paratrooper clerics, accompanied by a monitor (the fifth person that forms the cross), were:
– Emmanuel Gobilliard, 55 years old, for a few months Bishop of Digne, neighboring diocese to Gap; he served in the military in the Mountain Hunters, and has always enjoyed skiing, mountaineering, and scuba diving; is he responsible for Sport of the French Episcopal Conference;
– Henri Delavennefrom the diocese of Rouen, who studied at a military school and was chaplain of the Scouts of France;
– Antoine Fernetparish priest in the diocese of Beauvais and member of the Jean-Marie Vianney Society;
– y Rodrigo Alfaro Uriartewho has French and Spanish nationality, and is since 2020 the parish priest in Madrid of San Luis de los Francesesthe French-speaking parish of reference in the Spanish capital (at Calle Lagasca, 89).
From left to right, Father Fernet, Rodrigo Alfaro from Madrid, Bishop Gobilliard and Father Delavenne, with their parachutes.
Bishop Gobilliard is currently the liaison between the French episcopate and the world of sport, especially as the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris approach, which for Gobilliard represent an evangelizing opportunity.
“My job is to be the link between the church and the sport,” explained in September 2022 to The team. “Almost 90% of people are linked to sport. Either they play sports, or they watch it on television, or they have children who do it. The Church is interested in what makes people’s lives. We can love sports and God, it’s not antinomian,” comment.
Summary of the inauguration of Bishop Gobilliard in 2022; sometimes he puts on the parachute, and other times, the miter and the staff.
Gobilliard and the Auxiliary Bishop of Paris, Philippe Marsset, are now working to facilitate access to the sacraments and to the Christian community of the Olympic family, including the expected 45,000 volunteers.
Bishop Gobilliard and the three skydiving priests board the plane to skydive.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the priests draw the cross at Pentecost in the skies of the Hautes Alpes, in Gap.
The French diocese of Gap, in the French Hautes-Alpes, is known for its beautiful mountain scenery and its sanctuary for the apparitions of the Virgin of Laus, considered the longest in history (the seer, Benita Rencurel, saw the Virgin for 54 years, during the 17th century). These appearances were approved in 2008.
2023-06-01 12:29:53
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