A French priest confesses skiers on a chairlift in the Alps. Priest Geoffrey Génin sees the ski lift as "a confestial in the open air, giving fresh air," said the Catholic news portal OSV News.
A sportsy 69-year-old priest is waiting all Monday morning close the ski lifts of the Val Cenis hotel in the Maurienne Valley in Sabaudia. His parish, Notre-Dame de l’Alliance, includes many mountain villages whose population doubles with the influx of tourists.
For deficiency of time: confession on ski lift
During a Sunday Mass, skiers asked the priest to confess. due to the time constraints, the clergyman offered to meet them at the lift the next day. – The next morning, I went with each of them in a chairlift, so that he could discreetly whisper, which lasted six or 7 minutes. After giving my absolution, I went skiing with them, staring at snowy mountains – says the parish priest.
For Fr Génina, confession is well composed with skiing, due to the fact that in the mountains 1 can easy “go back a step”. Confession cheers the heart.
What started as a one-time event became a regular service: the priest confesses on the chairlift people who come to Mass on Sunday. – We're gathering for the next day to make certain they don't forget. – says the clergyman. The priest is contacted by others curious in learning about him from friends. Therefore, for Fr Génina, athletics is “a large chance to meet people who never go to church and who would otherwise never think about going to a priest”.
From production management to priest
Fr Génin comes from Lyon and initially worked in production management. At about 35 years of age, he wanted to give his life a deeper meaning. A tourist visit to Cîteaux Abbey, the founding monastery of the Order of the Cistercians, left an awesome impression. – I was profoundly impressed by the peace emanated from these monks – said in an interview with OSV News. – It impressed me so much that I visited them respective times later. Finally, the monks advised me to meet a priest in my parish. I had to look for him due to the fact that I had no thought where to find him. He mentioned it.
In 2000, at the age of 43, he accepted priestly ordination. In 2014, he moved from Lyon to Sabaudia, to a much more agrarian diocese. He became a parish priest in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, a town in the Tarentaise Valley, known for its alpine ski resorts. He presently lives in Val Cenis in the Maurienne Valley, where ski resorts are smaller and more intimate.
Fr Génin admitted that he loves to meet people while doing mountain sports and likes to hike, climb, fly paragliding, hang gliders and ski. – I like gathering people where they are. He confessed. On peculiar tandem skiing, he takes older or disabled people who cannot ski alone. He is happy to share the joy of those who cannot experience it alone.
Source: KAI
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