At the end of 1945 and the beginning of 1946, Mgr Le Guenne, born in Douarnenez in 1895, a canon and archpriest of Bourges Cathedral, along with his vicar, Abbé Berthias, were exploring southern Finistère…
Through a call for donations, wealthy benefactors from Bourges purchased shares valued at 5,000 AF each to form the « Île-Tudy non-trading property company. » This enabled the acquisition of a former cannery, which had been disused since 1930, and a plot of land on Île-Tudy. Two associations emerged from this non-trading property company: the Berry-Tudy Association to manage the buildings, and the Notre-Dame-la-Blanche Association to oversee the summer camps.
Roger, Paul-André, François remember…
“The immensity of the building, the sensation of dampness and cold on the tiles of the grand hall, the smell of stale air and fish, the river… The separation from the family, the open-air kitchen, the straw mattresses on the scrap metal beds, the large zinc tubs for washing, the huge dormitories, the beach, and the sea…” The adventure of the Berry Colony at Île-Tudy begins…
Mgr Le Guenne.
