“It’s a bit difficult, the fabric slips,” notes Clara, 17, diligently sewing together the two edges of the wide strip of raw fabric that will make a priest’s stole. For the visit of Pope Francis to Marseille, the diocese of Aix-Marseille has partnered with Fask, a sewing school located Boulevard Gèze, in Marseille. The ten apprentice dressmakers, aged 15 to 18, are responsible for making 50 of the 600 stoles – these liturgical “scarves” that priests wear – that as many priests will wear during the mass that the Pope will give on September 23 at the stadium. Velodrome. The schoolchildren also made all the cutouts, carefully packed in packs of 25 that a dozen volunteers came to pick up on Tuesday, who will sew the rest.
Among them, Isabelle, a teacher in a business school. “I have always loved sewing and the visit of the Pope is a great event. So if in addition, I sew for this occasion, it’s great, ”enthuses the one who, at the start of the Covid-19 crisis, had launched with four friends into the emergency production of masks.
A canon who loves sewing
It is Canon Jean-Pierre Ellul, himself a sewing enthusiast, who coordinates the operation with this so-called production school, i.e. which produces pieces for customers and frees up a third of its budget. annual like this. A canon that Isabelle met at the bensimon haberdashery in Marseille. “It happened like that,” smiles the teacher who thinks she doesn’t have too much difficulty making the liturgical pieces.
When they are not making stoles, Fask schoolchildren work on projects for small designers or foundations. “Essentially on production volumes that do not allow customers to call on manufacturers,” explains Jocelyn, president of the school founded last year. Recently, the apprentice dressmakers worked on the manufacture of post-bath ponchos for surfers or divers for a new specialized clothing brand launched in Marseille. They are also preparing the delivery of several hundred “Rugby World Cup” t-shirts, ordered by the Total Foundation.