If any of our members have any "good" beads that we can present to our French guests when they arrive it would be greatly appreciated. Please provide the beads to Gayle Dellinger.
Make your plans now to watch the Joan of Arc parade thru the French Quarter on Saturday Jan 6. Members of the Club have volunteered to walk as monks in the parade. New props in the Joan of Arc parade include medieval manuscripts, ringing bells, and a rolling Orléans France cathedral. These hand-made props will help tell the story of the parade’s Restoration Battalion, which depicts the period after Joan of Arc’s death when Pope Callixtus III ordered a retrial, Inquisitor of France Jean Brehal collected the evidence that exonerates Joan, and the Pope formally declared Joan innocent of heresy and restored her honor.
Joan of Arc’s life aptly demonstrates “Service Above Self,” the motto of Rotary International. In this spirit of service, members of the New Orleans Rotary Club, dressed as monks in the Restoration Battalion, will carry nine signs illustrated beautifully as medieval manuscripts by Krewe member Judy Sheon, also a member of the New London, New Hampshire Rotary Club. Judy also created the artwork that superimposes the image of Joan of Arc on a picture of France’s Orléans Cathedral. Enlarged and mounted on a rolling nine-feet high frame, the prop aims to mimic the light show projected on the actual Orléans Cathedral during the Joan of Arc celebrations in Orléans every May. In the story of the restoration of Joan’s honor, the new prop also represents the actual celebration that took place in the city of Orléans after the Pope declared Joan’s innocence in 1456.
Today, the Krewe continues the celebration of Joan of Arc, and the New Orleans Rotary Club and the Orléans, France Rotary have joined to also honor Joan and the special bond between the two cities. From the Rotary-sponsored exchange of the young women portraying Joan of Arc in the two cities comes Orléans’ Joan of Arc and her pages to the January 6 New Orleans parade. This visiting French delegation will walk in the Restoration Battalion in front of the Orléans cathedral prop and behind the new ringing bells. Meant to proclaim the joy of 15th-century France upon hearing of the formal declaration of Joan’s innocence, the ringing bells also celebrate the beginning of a new Mardi Gras season and the enduring relationship between the cities of New Orleans and Orléans in their shared French heritage.
Emmeline Meyer, Joan of Arc 2023, is our first recipient of the Cultural Scholarship to visit Orléans France. She spoke to our club Nov 8 and elaborated on sites she visited and the hospitality our siter city club showed her and her parents who traveled with her. She showed slides of the many Jeanne d’Arc statues, stained glass and historic markers throughout the city and surrounding area. I think everyone was ready to plan a trip to visit Orléans.
We will welcome Clarvie Quesne, the French Jeanne d’Arc, to New Orleans January 3. The two young pages, Maximillien and Theophile, who met Emmeline and developed a close friendship asked if they could come as well. Bernard, our Rotary contact, wrote to ask if we would accommodate the young boys on the visit and I immediately said “yes”. Madame Baranger, the Pres of the Jeanne d’Arc Assoc and her husband will be traveling to New Orleans also. A full week of sightseeing is planned to introduce them to our French culture and emphasize the French heritage we share with Orléans.
The French guests will walk in the Krewe of Joan of Arc parade on Jan 6. Rotarians will volunteer in the Restoration Battalion as monks and will carry signs that tell the story of Joan. Special souvenir cards recognizing Rotary will be passed out to the parade watchers along the route. Also watch for handmade “throws” such as ornaments, necklaces, pins, matches, swords, prayer cards, and many other unique Joan themed souvenirs. Please make plans to visit the French Quarter on Jan 6 and see the parade which begins at 7 pm. This is the first parade and the official start of Mardi Gras. Jan 6 is celebrated and believed to be Joan’s birthday.
Are you a bit unsure of the history surrounding this peasant girl who saved the kingdom of France from English domination. Check out the life story of Saint Jeanne d’Arc, The Maid of Orleans 1412-1431. https://www.jeanne-darc.info/biography/overview/
Our club is seeking input from members on what kind of speakers you would like to see going forward. Please forward all suggestions to Seth Nehrbass, SNehrbass@gmail.com.
The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings: Of the things we think, say or do:
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