'Parachutist' still hangs from the bell tower

Sainte-Mere-Eglise was the first town liberated in Second World War

Saint-Meen – June 21

- WCR photo by Ted Fitzgerald Statue of St. Meen

By TED FITZGERALD
Special to the WCR
Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France

On the night of June 5, 1944, the D-Day assault on Normandy began just inland from Allied landings at Utah Beach with the capture of little Sainte-Mere-Eglise.

Overnight, the town and its Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary became familiar to the world and ever since have been the destination of travellers anxious to view the first French town liberated during the Second World War.

Pilgrims interested in the healing powers of devotions to the town's unofficial co-patron, Saint-Meen, are also attracted to the popular holy man's well here.

Those arriving at the church on a Thursday morning will find it surrounded by a crush of vehicles and open stalls that fill Place 6 Juin at the town's open market.

Everything, especially fresh produce, is available here, but by the afternoon the place is deserted as Les Sainte-Mere-Eglisais return home. Visitors can then get great views of the building and its famous parachutist suspended from the clock tower.

The church became a part of the lore of Manche when, on that fateful June night, U.S. soldier Pte. John Steele became hung up when his parachute caught on the bell tower. Playing dead for hours, almost driven to distraction by the regular ringing of the church clock bells, he was finally rescued from his precarious, exposed trap by German defender Rudolf May.

Manikin replica

An instant celebrity, Steele returned regularly to visit the town until his death in 1969. To replace him, a manikin dangling from the tower has become a much-photographed subject for tourists to the town.

Visitors can sympathize with Steele's plight when they notice that the church bells here toll on the quarter hour, once, twice, three times, then four at the hour followed by the time count!

Eglise Notre Dame de la Paix was begun in the 11th century as a Romanesque structure, but when completed centuries later was mainly Gothic. Inside, behind the original altar, a 1778 painting features the Assumption, patron of the parish before the name was changed.

Of particular interest is the now-famous Normandy Landing window, a one-of-a-kind portrayal of Our Lady and the Christ Child framed by descending paratroopers.

Missionary in Cornwall

From Celtic Wales, co-patron of the church, Saint-Meen undertook missionary work in Cornwall then followed his leader, Saint-Sampson, to Brittany in the seventh century. He was buried at a monastery he established near the city of Rennes in today's Saint-Meen-le-Grand.

Statues of the saint and his contemporary Saint-Marcouf are positioned prominently in the Sainte-Mere church, as is a large painting illustrating an event in Meen's life.

The story is told of how, on a visit to Saint-Marcouf at Saint-Mere-Eglise, Saint-Meen, being thirsty, touched his staff to the ground to create a spring of pure water. However it originated, the spring of Saint-Meen has ever since been a destination for pilgrims.

Today, the water continues to flow into a broad pool where an informational panel explains the saint's acquired reputation as an intercessor for those suffering from skin problems, eczema and impetigo in children.

His assistance was indirectly provided during the dangerous days of June 1944 when villagers sought refuge from the fighting in the little depression and grotto at the spring.

During a visit to the famous town, there's ample opportunity to relax, inside or out, at one of the restaurants that front the Place and contemplate the church with its parachutist, destined to hang forever from the old clocher of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix.

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