Summer has already begun, and it is often synonymous with vacation. Priests are also entitled to it. Aleteia interviewed some of them to find out how they live them and what organization they have so as not to completely abandon the faithful.
“Unless there is a serious reason, the parish priest can be absent each year for vacation for a maximum of one month, continuous or not, the days of absence for the spiritual retreat not being counted in vacation time; however, for an absence of more than a week, the parish priest is required to notify the Ordinary. [l’évêque ou le vicaire général, ndlr] of the place “, (art. 533). On reading this article of the Code of Canon Law, one is frightened: are the holidays of priests so regulated?
Admittedly, things are clearly specified in the law. They extend moreover, more or less, to bishops and parochial vicars. In concrete life, the rest of the priests is not so formal, a priest admits to taking forty-five days a year: we will not blame him! Often busy with their ministry, they rarely take more vacations than necessary, and more in small pieces than all at once. Not to mention that in summer, many parishes are inevitably less active, for lack of faithful. Even if he is present in his presbytery, the parish priest has more time to read, rest and… prepare for the coming year. Between Sunday mass, daily offices and funerals, the pace is slower.
But who replaces the priest in his absence?
A question arises all the same, especially in the many parishes of France where the priest is alone: how not to abandon the faithful and guarantee access to the sacraments, starting with Sunday mass. When the priest has no solution, he is sometimes obliged to leave only between two Sundays, in short jumps. Otherwise, all the options exist. To several colleagues, do not leave at the same time to ensure a tile. Swapping one’s presbytery with another is another solution, which allows you to rest in a more favorable place.
Some parishes also call on foreign priests, often from Africa, to ensure a presence. They can even come back from one year to another and thus create beautiful relationships. This solution is popular in Saint-Denys du Saint-Sacrement (Paris IIIe), where Father Alfred, Togolese, is now a regular at the house, whom he finds with joy, just like the faithful. This link is also maintained throughout the year by pastoral projects in Togo, financially supported by Parisian parishioners. The parish priest can thus leave to preach retreats and the vicar visit the scout camps.
Another help can come from priests on vacation, who obviously continue to say mass. Visiting his parents in the Allier regularly, Father Stéphane Duteurtre, parish priest in Paris, did not hesitate to say mass in the village church to relieve the Bourbon priest. Failing to replace him, another invites himself to his vacation parish on Sundays to concelebrate: no question of saying it alone! On weekdays, on the other hand, it is common for priests to celebrate alone or with those around them. An opportunity to experience “very strong family moments around the altar” according to Mgr Christory, Bishop of Chartres.
What does a priest’s vacation look like?
More broadly, vacations are for him a means of “finding people who are deep and spiritual”, and, away from the hectic pace of daily life, of exchanges “to understand the questions of the world, in particular how the laity live or suffer from them, and enrich the speeches with concrete facts”. An openness that also involves reading, visits, walking, activities often cited in the preferred occupations for the summer. Where we see that the priest remains a fairly ordinary man.
Friends, family, colleagues, everyone has their own method of clearing their heads. If the former can be a good help in resourcing, the family allows more autonomy and a certain comfort. As for the confreres, they can either be of great service, sharing the same questions and the same rhythm of life. For these reasons, going on vacation with other priests may not be very entertaining, in a good way.
To be alone and really recharge your batteries, there is no other method than the annual retreat. Canon law says it, and priests too, unanimously: these are not vacations! Rather a “spiritual exercise”, a time to “refocus on Christ when sometimes we get scattered a little in the mission without realizing it”. Abbey, Jesuit house, traveling market, there is something for everyone. Offices and monastic life are acclaimed for simplicity and beauty. “Simple and good meals, in the silence of the monks’ refectory are a real blessing”, explains Bishop Christory. Without forgetting a good book of spirituality. That said, all vacations are to be taken “in the presence of God” recalls the Bishop of Chartres. And not just for priests…
