My name is Virginie Simon, and I am the descendant of Father Louis Relave, a Catholic missionary from Lyon born in Marcenod in the Loire.

Ordained a priest on September 27, 1885, the very young Father Louis Relave went by ship to the south of Japan to spread the Catholic faith.

After learning the Japanese language in Kyoto, he gave numerous public lectures to spread the Catholic faith and, with the help of Japanese craftsmen, built a church in Miyazu in 1896.

This church is today the oldest wooden church in Japan still in use.

In 1912, when Emperor Meiji was ill, Father Louis Relave put up a poster in front of the church inviting anyone to come and freely pray for the emperor's recovery, which the mayor of Miyazu did.

Father Louis Relave was very open-minded and welcomed anyone who wanted to enter his church.

Father Louis Relave also opened, next to the church, a sewing school which became in 1931 a government-approved Catholic high school.

He also opened, in 1935 thanks to money sent by his family, a kindergarten that was very dear to his heart.

This Catholic high school, run by Mr. Tamate, still welcomes 140 girls and boys today, and the kindergarten has about thirty children.

Thanks to Louis Relave, Miyazu became one of the main jewels of the Osaka mission.

Today, the church is in very poor condition: the façade is at risk of collapsing and Masses can no longer be celebrated there.

The parish and the town of Miyazu do not have the financial means to carry out the repairs, and this oldest wooden church in Japan risks collapsing.

Our friend Father Jean-Raymond Girard, who serves as priest in the church and until recently still celebrated Masses, is helpless faced with the costs of the repairs.

The city of Miyazu is very poor and the residents cannot, by themselves, save this building which is dear to them and which is the work of their French missionary.

We have therefore decided to collect funds to help preserve this beautiful church, a witness of the past and a little piece of France in Japan.

We know that the amount needed for the work will be hard to reach as it amounts to €80,000, but the goal is to contribute and every donation, however small, will be welcome.

I would like to specify that we have the agreement of Father Jean-Raymond Girard for this fundraiser as well as that of the bishop and the relevant authorities.



The fundraiser is secure, reliable and will be paid in full for the church and I will provide the supporting documents related to the operation when the time comes.

The bank details (RIB) provided to collect the funds will be those of the association "sauvons l'église de Miyazu" whose statutes were filed at the Lyon 3rd prefecture.

(https://www.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/associations/detail

annonce/associations_b/20200045/1439)

Father Jean-Raymond Girard tells me that the bishop is enthusiastic and that he wishes that the Japanese will follow our example in this initiative!

We are supported in communications by "RCF" Fourvière Catholic radio and the private institution Charles de Foucauld in Lyon will relay our message.

I am available to answer any questions related to this fundraiser which is open for one year and will be paid out at the end of this period.



Project: Save Miyazu Catholic Church, whose front (façade) is on the verge of collapse



My name is Virginie Simon. I am a descendant of Father Louis Relave, a Lyon Catholic missionary who went to Japan in 1880 for missionary work. In Miyazu, which at the time was famous as a silk-weaving town, Father Relave built a church and a girls' school. The girls' school is still used today as a kindergarten.

Japanese Catholic faithful have gathered in this church to pray. And now, the church's façade is about to collapse and there is no means to prevent it.

Father Relave devoted his entire life to Japan and the Japanese people. Now it is our turn to save this church, which bears witness to the past.

For this reason, Miyazu's Catholic faithful and residents have raised as much money as they could. But the restoration costs are high, and repairs cannot be carried out without external help.

Therefore, we ask those of good will to help financially with the restoration work to the extent they can.

We are grateful for your precious cooperation.



Authorization of the Diocese of Kyoto:






The pillars of the church are made of wood, and the stained glass windows were crafted and imported from France.









Miyazu Church



Above, the liturgical objects of Father Louis Relave



House in Marcenod in the Loire where Father Louis Relave was born and where my mother and her brothers and sisters grew up.

In the photo on the right, you can see Father Girard and Mr. and Mrs. Tamate who visited France in the footsteps of Father Louis Relave.





Interior of the church where you can see the tatami mats.

As the parishioners are elderly, chairs have been installed.



Father Louis Relave at the center of the Lamotte Piquet crew for whom he had celebrated a Mass.





Original kindergarten created by Father Louis Relave.

Currently about 40 pupils still attend.





Grave of Father Relave in the Miyazu cemetery








Death notice of Father Relave and tribute to his work.








The current Miyazu Catholic high school was the former sewing school created by Father Louis Relave (gyôsei school).

This coeducational high school welcomes hundreds of students from all over Japan.





Mr. Tamate, the high school principal, with his wife, an English teacher, and Father Girard who serves as a priest in Miyazu.






120th anniversary of the founding of Father Louis Relave's church.

In the photo, the parishioners as well as Father Jean-Raymond Girard, the fifth from the left, who does wonderful work supported by Mrs. and Mr. Tamate.





Commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the church in 1996 in the presence of members of the Relave family who came from France and Hong Kong to represent the family










A big thank you to RCF Lyon, French Christian radio in Lyon, and journalist Grégoire Dubois who allowed us this Friday to record the program to publicize our project "sauvons l'église de Miyazu".

Thanks to Luna for accompanying me!

We hope that our message will travel far!!