Spirit of the season
Father Albeni d'entremont has amassed an impressive collection of decorations over years and is proud to have them on display at the Sainte-anne church rectory
He may be approaching 80 years of age, but it's plain to see Father Albeni d'entremont still has a child's wonder and joy for the Christmas season. The rectory, located between the Sainte-anne church and the sparkling waters of a large inlet in Ste.-anne-du-ruisseau, is full of Christmas spirit this time of year, in the form of decorations collected over four decades.
There are beautiful trees, nativity scenes, ornaments and figurines. Many are from different areas of the world that Father d'entremont has visited. Others were received as gifts.
He found part of one group of elegant figurines at Frenchys and a friend noticed she had the rest of the set, which she gave to him.
Three women from his congregation – Linda Muise, Janice Muise and Geraldine D'eon – are responsible for most of the decorating and they are quite particular as to how things are done. “I tease them sometimes,” says Father d'entremont.
“I put something that doesn't go with the colour of the rest of the decorations and the next day, it's gone,” he says with a smile.
In the branches of a beautiful white tree, some dried blossoms are tucked.
“Dorian blew many of the hydrangea blossoms off the shrubs. I didn't want to leave them on the ground, so I picked them up and put them in a vase,” he says.
“They all dried up and the ladies wanted that colour, so they added them to the decorations.” There are framed needlepoint Christmas scenes on the walls by Anna Aymar from Meteghan. One features a poinsettia with 18 shades of red.
In a corner cabinet there are art porcelain figures by Lladro of Spain, comparable in quality to Royal Dalton of England.
Visitors wander wide-eyed, from room to room. Typically, there are 400-500 visitors each year. “We can't put everything out (decorations) every year because… there's no room at the inn,” chuckles Father d'entremont.
“Most people say it's excellent and they love it.” This year's open houses were held earlier in December. Funds collected are being directed towards a wheelchair ramp for the rectory. In addition to the Sainte-anne church, Father d'entremont also administers to other congregations in the area. MORE ONLINE: See this story on our website for a Christmas video message from Father Albeni d'entremont and many more photos.