The meeting started off as a student party. The table is set, it smells good, and laughter escapes from the kitchen. On the menu ? “ Pasta with pesto, we go to the table », invites us Anaëlle Olago. That evening, about twenty young people from the chaplaincy of Talence, a town where part of the campus of the University of Bordeaux is located, follow the penultimate session of the Alpha Campus course. This formation of discovery of spirituality in 10 weeks was proposed for the third year by the diocese of Bordeaux. “In May, partial period, there is a lack of people. We were up to 40 participants, assures the young Bordelaise. Each meeting begins with a convivial dinner. »
Around the table, students engaged in the chaplaincy, young Catholics and others who knew nothing about religion before starting this journey. For newcomers, these evenings are a gateway to the Church. For others, they serve to find each other. “We tell each other about our classes, our life on campus, our student struggles and we talk about our faith”describes Claire Oger, co-host of the course.
Discover religion among young people
The session continues with the broadcast of a 30-minute video on the theme: “Talking to others: how and why? “. The production is dynamic. ” A mix of vox pops, testimonies and teachings from Nicky Gumbel, the Anglican priest who founded the Alpha course “, describes Bertrand Arsac, priest chaplain of the students in Talence. The goal, to give in 10 meetings and a weekend an approach to the Christian faith.
Who is Jesus? How do I read the Bible and how do I know if I have faith? The students are then called upon to react. Divided into small groups, they confide their difficulties in speaking “of (their) faith before (their) atheist parents “, of “ admit it to (their) internship colleagues » or « pray in front of others “. Young people also share their small victories, such as having convinced two friends to come to student mass “. For Quentin Gégoué, “ these debates show that faith is not only lived in churches, but also in the fraternity of these evenings. And the advantage for those who discover the faith, like the catechumens, is that we speak with the same words as them ».
Evangelize your peers
This fraternal spirit decided Ambroise Bayot, 18, to come. “ The moment I stopped my BTS, I withdrew into myself and started thinking “, he says. During the Alpha course, he then meets the people “ most open » that he has ever met. “I started to be positive and it transformed my life”, until you feel a need for spirituality. ” I wanted to put words on something bigger than me. He will be baptized in 2023.
“Seeing those who are beginning to let themselves be touched by Christ teaches us a lot about our relationship with others, says Juliette Meurgues. Answering their questions, teaching them the basics of caté makes us progress in our faith. » Thus the students who have passed through the course form those who arrive. “ I hardly intervene, the young people are in the position of missionaries », notes Bertrand Arsac. This message of faith has changed the lives of some. Marin Lebret, who took the course three years ago, was an atheist student and “ careerist “. The fraternal ties with the young people who welcomed him without prejudice changed everything “. To the point of asking for confirmation, making communion and getting married. Here he is even the father of twins.
TO KNOW
The sessions of the Alpha course are held at the student chaplaincy of Pessac, at the café La Paillère, a space dedicated to young people on campus by students from the parish of Notre-Dame de Talence.
Information: pastojeune33gmail.com/contact@paroisse-talence.fr. Facebook of La Paillère coffee.