“There is someone who died in the cellar, come see if it’s indeed your boyfriend…”
Jean-Marie discovers Daniel’s body in a sorry state: dirty and poorly dressed. Angry about this situation, he meets Jean-Claude and shouts his indignation at him. “It’s not possible! he is going to be buried like that, not washed and in his dirty clothes.”
Jean-Claude (a priest) invites him to find other friends from the street to make arrangements with the city of Rennes and the funeral home, asking for a mortuary toilet and a dignified, humane burial.
Such is the beginning of the Collectif “Dignité – Cimetière” in 1989. Since this event, this Collective has developed to this day and made emulators in the department and in Brittany, France. He works to humanize and restore the dignity of people who have died on the street.
Every year in Rennes, public demonstrations take place at the end of October.
– The creation of an ephemeral work, on the Place de la Mairie: this year it is a harp with a broken string drawn in flowers on the asphalt. This event ends with a circle of silence in memory of the dead of the year.
– Every 31st October, at the Eastern Cemetery, a tribute is paid to all those who died in the street during the year: testimonies written by friends of misfortune, names and ages of the deceased of the year, deposits by the participants of small flower bowls on about 180 tombs scattered in the cemeter
Then, the participants are invited to gather around the common sepulture surmounted by a sculpture, “The flower of life”, sculpture made by the Collective, to honor the dead buried in this place.
This year, more than 200 people, including members of the 2 communities on Boulevard Sébastopol, gathered for this tribute. The representative of the Mayor of Rennes took the floor to emphasize the importance of this beautiful public approach of humanity.
For 23 years, Eliane has joined this place of mission. Passionate, she often shared with us her joy and worries, carried in our community prayer. She emphasizes that this mission made her grow in humility, fraternity, and humanity. This life alongside the people of the street or in precariousness has nourished his spiritual life day after day.
Community of the islands of the Holy Spirit, 11 Bd Sébastopol – Rennes. Published on November 3, 2025
Photo 1: Participants in the tribute
Photo 2: Participants with bowls to deposit
Photo 3: Construction of the harp, Place de la Mairie
Photo 4: The harp at the cemeteryµPhoto 5: Circle of silence, Place la Mairie
Photo 6: List of street deaths in the year
Photo 7: Sculpture of “The Flower of Life”
