Parish life at La Broque is documented from 1678, the date of the oldest surviving parish registers (among the oldest in the upper Bruche valley), kept first in Latin then in French by the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Senones.
In 1883, during a major diocesan survey, La Broque counted 2,250 Catholics, 220 Protestants and 15 Jews. Easter communions stood at 1,450 to 1,500.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"Psalm 133:1
List established from the 1961 consecration booklet. Dates prior to 1807 are incomplete, except for those pastors mentioned in specific documents.
Born in 1910, Lucien Friederich entered the Minor Seminary of the Camillian Fathers at Exaerde (Belgium) at the age of 11. In 1925, he joined the Major Seminary of Tournai. The following year, he contracted poliomyelitis, which caused paralysis of his lower limbs — an ordeal he overcame, resuming his studies at the end of 1927.
Ordained a priest in Strasbourg on 22 September 1934 by Bishop Ruch, he followed a varied path: teacher at Exaerde, curate at Erstein, teacher at Faverney (Haute-Saône, 1940), parish priest at Jasney and Anjeux (1943), then returned to Alsace in 1945 as parish priest of Thal.
He arrived at La Broque on 7 October 1951.
Fr Friederich had a distinctive number plate — 500 — which he kept when changing vehicles, to the point that this registration became his personal trademark, a source of affectionate amusement for the whole parish.
718 baptisms · 253 marriages · 432 deaths
720 professions of faith · 694 First Communions · 638 Confirmations
Died 17 June 1995 in a care home. Funeral on 21 June.
Founded on 15 September 1697 at La Broque, in the spiritual district of the Abbey of Senones, before the R.P. Jean de Sainte Rose, preacher. The founding document, still preserved, records the names of many parish families: Marchal, André, Sayer, Jacques, Adam, Brignon, Marquaire, Arnould, Helin, Hognon, Jacquot, Halvic, Bertrand, Julliot…
The Rosary Confraternity is the oldest documented parish institution at La Broque.
« L'an mil six cent quatre vingt dix sept, le quinzième jour de septembre, au lieu de LA BROQUE [...] se sont présentés le Sieur Joseph THOMAS, Religieux de l'abbaye de SENONES, prêtre et curé de LA BROQUE [...] lesquels [...] ont très humblement supplié le R. P. Jean de Ste Rose [...] d'ériger et instituer en cette église de Ste Libaire patronne dicelle la dite confrérie Notre Dame du Rosaire avec tous ses droits, grâces, privilèges pardon, et indulgences plainières. »
Officially registered at the court registry under the name "Cercle catholique des jeunes gens — Aloysia — La Broque." First president: Joseph Schreyeck; secretary-treasurer: Robert Supper. Affiliated to the Avant-Garde du Rhin federation (AGR, Strasbourg).
Activities included music, shooting, military preparation, theatre, table tennis, majorettes… Two notable figures: parish priest Antoine Halbwachs (1923–1951, spiritual director) and Commander Frickert (honorary president, killed at the front in 1929, his body repatriated to La Broque on 11 November).
In 1940, when the Germans requisitioned the circle's meeting room, Robert, son of Louis Kern, concealed the circle's flag in the church bell tower. He was killed on the Russian front and the exact hiding place of the flag remains unknown to this day.
The parish choir, active at the consecration of 1961 under the direction of Jules Longhi and with organist Irma Silet, also participated in the inauguration of the bell tower in 1984. It continues to lead the great parish celebrations.
Founded in 1808, this confraternity brought together the young women of the parish. It was still active in 1883 at the time of the diocesan survey.
At La Broque, as in many churches, the beadle (known in French as the Suisse, or church usher) was an imposing figure in uniform, carrying a halberd or topped cane, responsible for the practical arrangements and order during services. The parish had two well-known beadles:
But La Broque had one unique tradition: at the Feast of Corpus Christi, the beadle was accompanied by a young boy in uniform known as le petit-suisse (the "little beadle"), a role that rotated each year among the boys of the parish.
"For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness."Psalm 84:10
A historic event for the parish
Saturday 28 October: Reception of the Relics, procession to the Circle Hall converted into an Oratory. At 5 p.m., first part of the consecration by Mgr Léon Neppel, Vicar General. At 7 p.m., a night vigil for the veneration of the Relics until midnight.
Sunday 29 October at 8.30 a.m.: Procession and Translation of the Relics; second part of the consecration by Bishop Jean-Julien Weber, Bishop of Strasbourg. At 10.15 a.m.: Solemn Pontifical High Mass.
Singing was provided by the parish choir and a group of seminarians from the Scholasticate of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Fathers of Issoudun), under the direction of Jules Longhi. Organist: M. Maurice Durand (organist at Russ).