Batch. The singer Natacha St-Pier in concert at the Saint-Sauveur church in Figeac

The singing evenings of Natacha St Pier (real name Natacha Saint Pierre) scheduled for 2020 then May 2021 to Figs in the Lot had to be canceled due to the health crisis. It will be this Friday, May 27, 2022 that the Quebec singer will return to the Lot.

This concert organized for the benefit of the restoration of the abbey of Marcilhac-sur-Céléis above all a thank you to the donors who have supported the Association de l’église Saint Pierre de Marcilhac since its beginnings and who thus make it possible to carry out new projects.

She comes to sing Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

“Knowing her little a few years ago, Thérèse is now part of my life,” says the singer. Since the first album, I have known a life rich in emotions. Pregnant, I learned that my child was sick. It all came crashing down. It was then that I found great comfort in his poems. Soothing and full of wisdom, they transcribe a simple message: let’s not try to be heroes but let’s do our best, every day, each in our place. No need to run constantly behind the demands of a consumer society” summarizes Natacha St Pier.

Her visit therefore takes place within the framework of the “Saint Thérèse of Lisieux – To love is to give everything” tour to which she devotes her admiration. “Therese’s texts are very topical. The message it gives is clear. It speaks of a God of love who listens and proposes. I appreciate his audacity. Not hesitating to contradict, she shakes things up”.

This ambitious project around a music of religious inspiration is intended for the general public. It is at the same time a spiritual time which gently celebrates the faith, “because in a church, says Natacha St Pier, the spectator is meditative, extremely attentive to the words whereas in a normal room, one lets oneself be carried away by a whole , the play of light or the different types of music”.

The CD of the poems of Sainte Thérèse amazed as soon as it was released, placing itself at number 1 in sales. Selling 200,000 copies, it was a “ surprise success which gave ideas. From where a second album which sees the day today : « To love is to give everything “. To sing little Thérèse is to bring emotions, “a spiritual depth that does people good”.

“Thérèse’s texts are simple,” she adds. They develop this very current idea that happiness is worked on”.

Natacha Saint Pier’s career experienced this surprising turn in 2013 when leaving the entertainment channels, she participated in “ Therese, Living on Love ».

Previously, she had been chosen in 2001 by France Télévisions to represent France at the 46th Eurovision Song Contest daring to interpret “ I only have my soul and gave France 4th place out of 23 countries.

Born into a Catholic family

When we talk to Natacha St Pier on the subject, she reveals to us that she has had a close relationship with Christianity since her childhood: “My parents are believers. I was born in a catholic family where after a religious education, I received all the sacraments”.

Even if she admits that the spiritual orientation of her career came a little late, she emphasizes that her approach has always been at the heart of her relationship to faith: “I express my faith through music. I have always entertained but with meaning by desiring to serve more. Spirituality is a way of living with kindness, generosity and openness to others”. Adding: “The Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin describes very well what I feel: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience”. My mother, who was a nurse and worked a lot with the elderly, told me full of wisdom: “When we have accomplished what we must accomplish on earth, we can die in peace”.

And it is in this approach that “ Believe which approaches spirituality in songs declined as so many prayers and declarations of love to women, to the Virgin Mary, to Mother Teresa, the saint of Calcutta and to Thérèse of Lisieux.

It is therefore a desire for peace and reconciliation that the singer who has been playing for several years, in the churches of France, often sold out, shares again on stage since the end of the Covid pandemic.

For the abbey of Marcilhac

Exchange with Virginie Diguet responsible for communication at the abbey of Marcilhac.

Actu : Natacha St Pier wishes to reach Christians but also non-believers. Why through Saint Thérèse of Lisieux?

Virginie Diguet: Natacha St Pier has been touched by the figure of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux since the first project “Thérèse, Vivre d’amour”. It is therefore quite natural that she wished to continue her concert tours in France and abroad, drawing inspiration from the texts of this saint.

What is the program for the concert in Figeac?

V. D. : The program for the concert scheduled for Figeac is taken from the album “Croire”. designed to pay homage to women of faith (the Virgin Mary, Mother Teresa, mothers). Poems of Saint Thérèse will be sung during this concert. A unique opportunity to remember and to understand the spiritual good that she gave us.

In what state of mind was it developed?

V. D. : This concert has been developed with the aim of touching hearts with original compositions related to the Christian faith.

The goal is to find funds to advance in the restoration of the Abbey of Marcilhac. Could you introduce us to the association?

V. D. : The Association of the Church of Saint Pierre de Marcilhac is an association under the 1901 law working for the complete restoration of the abbey. Culture, history, heritage and spirituality are the vestiges left by the Benedictine monks who lived at the abbey. Our association was created to preserve this history. It responds to both secular commitments and Christian commitments. Everyone can find themselves when it comes to Heritage history.

Where is the restoration of the Abbey?

V. D. : After a promise of three million euros made in 2016 by Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie region, it is important to remind elected officials that the village is awaiting the second phase of the restoration work on the church. The presence of the many participants who animate the abbey prove the interest and the attachment that tourists and Lotois have for this heritage jewel.