read later
Without payment. Without subscription.
Close the France Info notification activation window
create your account
log in
Close presentation window
Published on 07/12/2025 20:24 Updated on 07/12/2025 22:07
Reading time: 2min – video: 2min
2 min
Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) celebrates, Sunday December 7, the return of the Good Mother. The statue of the Virgin and Child shines again and overlooks the Marseille city after nine months of restoration.
This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the video above. Click on the video to watch it in full.
Return to grace of the Good Mother, dressed all in gold after nine months of work. From the top of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, the Virgin and Child contemplates Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône). And that’s well worth a mass, a procession and a 360-degree sound and light show. Chaste ears or sensitive souls refrain, the Ave Maria will be electro or it will not be. The Marseille city celebrates with great fanfare the return of its lookout. “She is the mother of all the people of Marseille, whether we are Christians, Muslims, Jews. She is with us and we are going to celebrate her. We are all really very happy and that warms our hearts”shares a Marseillaise.
Behind this inauguration, 40,000 donors, individuals, businesses and communities financed the restoration. “We had to find 2.8 million. That was the budget and the objective. In reality, we have exceeded 3 million today, which is an achievement because it shows the very popular side of the Good Mother.” indicates Edouard Detaille, responsible for patronage for the diocese and the work of the Good Mother.
The 19th century basilica has been given a new lease of life. The mistral and the sea spray had taken their toll on its gilding. “I grab my leaf with a golden palette and pass it over my cheek, to have a little static electricity so that my leaf is caught by my hairs”explains Hermance Le Floch, gilder at Atelier Gohard. Solidified and 27,000 gold leaves later, it is ready to endure another forty years. Sunday December 7, exceptionally, the Good Mother will remain lit until midnight.