To the questions that reach the rectorate of the cathedral – especially through the guides of the Visitor Service – we sometimes answer in images. The subjects are varied and sometimes highlight unsuspected aspects of the cathedral…
Do you know if any of the cathedral’s priests are buried in Chartres, and where?
For the past two hundred years or so, the priest in charge of organizing the life of the cathedral has often held several positions, which may occasionally be separated. He is archpriest (appointed by the bishop to watch over his episcopal see – the cathedra), rector (of the pilgrimage basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary) and parish priest (of the parish corresponding to the Notre-Dame district, now extended to a large part of the city of Chartres).
One of the cathedral’s first parish priests, he left a deep imprint on the people of Chartres. His tomb is today in the Saint Chéron cemetery. It enjoys an exceptional view of the cathedral. Numerous inscriptions can be read on it:
– on the front: “Here lies the body of M. Pierre Alexandre LECOMTE, parish priest and archpriest of Notre-Dame, vicar general of Chartres and Poitiers, canon theologal, superior of the Visitation monastery, member of the Eure-et-Loir academic council, born in Nogent-le-Rotrou on March 24, 1796, died in Chartres on December 31, 1850. Lord, remember him and all his gentleness”.
– On the back: “The rich and the poor, mingling their gifts and their tears, raised this monument to their beloved pastor in the year 1851. This same tomb contains the piously collected bones of Mme Lecomte, née Badon, who died in Chartres in 1837. Thus, death will not have separated son and mother, tenderly united during their lives. Concession à perpétuité”.
– On one side, biblical quotations, for example: “on seeing my works, everyone bore me witness that I have never been deaf to the cry of the poor and neglected child”. On the other: “He was a good man, full of blessing, with gentle, modest eyes, simple, unassuming manners, and a noble, persuasive language. He had practiced the virtues from childhood. His advice remains like a fountain of life”.
Curé Lecomte’s charismatic personality, unaffected by honors (he declined several appointments as bishop), seems to have had a profound effect on a generation of parishioners and priests – including the future Cardinal Pie, whose role model he was.
