History is sometimes made in the most unexpected way. As far as one can tell from the Sulpician archives, Father Pierre DE MARTIN DE VIVIÉS, P.S.S., a member of the Sulpician General Council since 2014, is the first Sulpician to author a comic book that has just been published in France. The book recounts the history of the world-renowned festival of lights held annually in Lyon, France around December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. (Unfortunately, due the tragic events of November 13, 2015 in Paris, the festival has been cancelled for 2015.)
The title of the book is La Fête des Lumières, une histoire lyonnaise… [The Festival of Lights: Part of Lyon’s History (Strasbourg: Éditions du Signe, 2015). Father de Martin, who is a formator and professor of Sacred Scripture at Saint Irenaeus Regional Seminary in Lyon and Professor at the University of Lyon, is a native of Lyon. Although he did not draw the illustrations that accompany the history of the festival of lights, he composed the text and approved the final design. The design artist was Jean-Marie CUZIN.
Father de Martin has published numerous other works in French on the Bible in both a popular and more serious vein, including several books in the series, What the Bible Says About…, published by New City Press (Bruyères-le-Châtel: Nouvelle Cité). In particular, he wrote the small volumes in that series on “angels and demons,” “the end of the word,” and “animals.” Now he can add a comic book to the growing list of his publications!
The Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice congratulates Father de Martin on this singular achievement!