Inspired by Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819-1891) – Ste Catherine church in Honfleur (September 29, 1864) – Black stone / Watercolour – 5,79 x 6,89 inch

When Lea enters the little church of Honfleur, a thrill runs through her entire body. She has just stepped in the largest wooden church in France, classified as a historic monument in 1879.Dated second half of the 15th century, it replaces an old stone church, burnt during the Hundred Years’ War. In 1450, peace finally returned, in order to thank God for the departure of the English, the locals of Honfleur decided to rebuild a “temporary” wooden church (the stone being reserved as a priority for the reconstruction of the fortifications), by promising themselves to rebuild it stone in better times. With little means,the city’s Shipwrightds, famous “ax masters”, take the wood from the nearby forest of Touques and use their knowledge in shipbuilding. Without ever using the saw, as their Vikings ancestors did before them, they will establish this church along the lines of a market hall giving the look of an overturned boat hull. For the plinths, they use bricks and lime mortar, materials traditionally used during this period in the Pays d’Auge.

Lea closes the flyer. She knows enough. What puzzles her is rather this presence that she feels strongly. She closes her eyes. Reopening them, she lets out a little cry of terror. Just in front of her, a few yards away, she could almost touch her, a young girl of about her age. She is beautiful, speaks many languages, and tells her story. How, at the age of eighteen, in the city of Alexandria, the emperor Maxence took possession of his soul by beheaded her, because she refused to become his wife, and above all to convert. How, on that day around the year 307, milk flowed from her neck instead of blood. At last, how angels took her body to Mount Sinai, more than twenty days of travel, and buried her with many honors. From her bones runs down endlessly oil that heals all sick bodies. During the Crusades, her legend spread throughout the West.

Lea tries to reach the young girl, even touch her with fingertips. In vain, a door slams, she disappears behind the mist.