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Communautés d'accueil dans les sites artistiques (CASA) is a French association created in 1967 by Father Alain Ponsar (1917-2012). Its purpose is to allow young volunteers aged 18-35 years to receive and accompany summer visitors at twenty artistic and religious sites in France. It was recognized as a charity in March 1977 and is now part of the federation "Ars et Fides", which brings together European associations of volunteer guides to religious sites. A CASA community is open to each member of the Roman Catholic Church interested in the history of sacred art and aged between 18 and 35. It lasts two weeks, either in July or in August. There are 3 to 6 guides per team, depending on the number of tourists on the site.

History of the association

 * 1967: the first community in the Romanesque church of Brancion in Burgundy was set up;
 * 1972: the association was created (March 17, 1972);
 * 1977: CASA was recognized as the association of public utility (March 24, 1977);
 * 1985 (June): the first issue of the newsletter of CASA or CASA-Information (CASAInfo) appeared;
 * 1999 (April): CASA website www.guidecasa.com was launched;
 * 2012 (October 24): the founder of the association, Father Alain Ponsar, died.
 * 1985 (June): the first issue of the newsletter of CASA or CASA-Information (CASAInfo) appeared;
 * 1999 (April): CASA website www.guidecasa.com was launched;
 * 2012 (October 24): the founder of the association, Father Alain Ponsar, died.
 * 2012 (October 24): the founder of the association, Father Alain Ponsar, died.
 * 2012 (October 24): the founder of the association, Father Alain Ponsar, died.

The Visitation (from the Gospel according to Saint Luke 1:39-45)
"At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" (Luke 1:39-45)

According to CASA founding member, the story of the Visitation shows the reciprocal acceptance of Mary and Elizabeth which symbolizes the friendly and attentive welcome as any CASA member shall give to his visitor.

"We also do take a natural opportunity to come into contact with the tourist, knowing that there is already a certain connivance between him and us. He is a tourist. Not only does he seek to sightsee the religious monuments, but also to understand them. He knows we are here to help him look at, see better and especially to better enter into the mind of a monument expressing the faith of those who built it for God."(Father Alain Ponsar)

Philip and the Ethiopian (The Acts of the Apostles 8:25-40)
The second founding text of CASA is Acts 8:25-40, in which Philip meets the Ethiopian eunuch and explains the Scriptures to him. According to Father Ponsar, accompanying the visitors and "explaining the Scriptures" to them with hospitality and kindness is the main role of CASA volunteering. European churches and abbeys are open to everyone, often free of admission charge. Visited all the year round and unqualifiedly admired by visitors of all nations, not only do they undoubtedly testify to their builders' faith and expertise, but also convey images and symbolism, the meaning of which was obvious to their contemporaries but desperately need some explanation nowadays.

''"But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, "Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot." Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. "IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY; WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH." The eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea".'' (Acts 8:25-40)

Father Ponsair, emphasizing the indispensability of intermediating between the tourist and the monument and stressing the importance of guides' function, explains that each CASA guide should play the role of the diacon Philip. He comments on this passage as follows: "Can the direct contact of the monument and the visitor can make him discover it as the Word? It is not sure. Most of the time, the tourist is in the condition of the Queen of Ethiopia's servant, reading Isaiah without understanding because, he says, he has no guide. He must be therefore accompanied by someone who would play the role of deacon Philip and open the visitors' minds and hearts to the living Word of God." (Father Alain Ponsar, Can the stones describe Faith?)

Presidents

 * Gilles Chazal (1972-1977)
 * Pierre Gaugué (1978-1979)
 * Hubert Boulangé (1980-1982)
 * Martine Coulon (1983-1985)
 * Jean Vandamme (1986-1989)
 * Thierry Bettler (1990-1991)
 * Dominique Laboureix (1992-1994)
 * Sophie Pèpe (1995-1996)
 * Michel Rossi (1997-1998)
 * Marc Pescheux (1999-2001)
 * Franck Béthouart (2002-2008)
 * Marie Angles-Leconte (2009-2013)
 * Antoine Toursel (2014-)

The group CASA Notre Dame de Paris
CASA Notre Dame, founded in 1977, is a branch of CASA open to all ages and allowing its members to offer tours of the cathedral Notre Dame de Paris every day of the year. Tours are provided in 8 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Chinese. During the summer, the relay is taken by young people of the international community.

CASA sites

 * - Anzy-le-Duc (Prieurale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption): a monastery was first founded here in the 9th century, and gained fame because Hugues de Poitiers, an inspirational character at that time, became a prior at the church; beneath the choir of the church is an 11th century crypt, which for several centuries held the relics of Hugues de Poitiers; the crypt somehow became forgotten, then used as a storage area, but has recently become reincorporated in the church;
 * - Assy (Notre-Dame-de-Toute-Grâce): the Roman Catholic church of Our Lady Full of Grace of the Plateau d'Assy, facing Mont Blanc, was constructed on the plateau d'Assy between 1937 and 1946; it is celebrated for its decoration, contributed by some of the best-known artists of the twentieth century; it is also viewed as an important landmark in the development of modern sacred art;


 * - Aulnay  (Saint-Pierre): the church of Saint Peter is considered a treasure of Romanesque Poitevin art; thought to have been built in 1120-1140, it is an important point on the way to Saint-Jacques de Compostelle;


 * - Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne (abbey Saint-Pierre): the abbey of St Peter at Beaulieu is a Benedictine foundation of the 9th century and lies on the way to Saint-Jacques de Compostelle; many of its designs find their origin in Oriental designs;


 * - Bourges (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne): a Roman Catholic cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges; built between the late 12th and late 13th centuries, it stands for one of the great masterpieces of Gothic art and is admired for its proportions and the unity of its design; it is also the figurehead of the Capetian domain facing the south of France;


 * - Bran­cion (Saint-Pierre): the first church of Brancion, built under the patronage of St. Peter, was mentioned in 964 in a charter of the Abbey of Cluny; it is the oldest building from the historic village (not including the château); the open space surrounding the church was occupied by the cemetery from the 7th century until modern times. The inside of the church contains some wonderful medieval frescoes;
 * - Cahors (cathedral Saint-Étienne): a national monument of France in the town of Cahors, Midi-Pyrénées, makes up an impressive example of the transition between late Romanesque architecture and the Gothic; it was built by bishop Gerard de Cardaillac in the 11th century; one of its domes is decorated with 14th-century frescoes, depicting the stoning of St. Stephen as well as eight prophets, each riding an animal, in the fashion of Greek or Hindu deities;


 * - Clermont-Ferrand (Basilica Notre-Dame-du-Port): built in the early 12th century, it is a beautiful example of the Auvergne Romanesque style; the name "du Port" supposedly comes from the fact that the church was built in the "port" district, in Latin "portus", here in the sense of "market" rather than "seaport"; it should be noted however that the church at first bore the name of Sainte-Marie-Principale; the description Portus or du Port is not known before the 11th century
 * - Clery-Saint-André (basilica Notre-Dame): popularized by the nursery rhyme Le Carillon de VendômeVendôme, it was classified as a historic monument in the 1841 list and located within the perimeter of the Loire Valley World Heritage of UNESCO;


 * - Conques (abbey Sainte-Foy): the original monastery building at Conques,an eighth-century oratory, was built by monks fleeing the Saracens in Spain; the main draw for medieval pilgrims at Conques were the remains of St. Foy, a martyred young woman from the fourth century; the relics of St. Foy arrived in Conques through theft in 866


 * - Issoire ( abbey Saint-Austremoine): the 12-century Saint-Austremoine church is the largest Romanesque church in Issoire and the most highly decorated in the Auvergne;


 * - Mar­seille (Basilica Saint-Victor): a late Roman former monastic foundation in Marseille in the south of France  contains the relics of the eponymous martyr of Marseille from the 4th century, Saint Victor; in reality, the crypts contain extremely valuable archaeological artefacts which point to the existence of a working quarry in the Greek period then a Hellenistic necropolis (2BC) which was used up until Christian times;
 * - Orci­val (Basilica Notre-Dame): a Romanesque church at Orcival in the department of Puy-de-Dome and the Auvergne region is one of five Romanesque churches of Auvergne Basse-called "major" with the Notre-Dame-du-Port in Clermont-Ferrand, St Austell Issoire church, the Church of Saint-Nectaire and church of Our Lady of Saint-Saturnin;


 * - Paris (cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris): "Our Lady of Paris" cathedral, a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, is one of the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world;


 * - Rodez (cathedral Notre-Dame): the seat of the Bishopric of Rodez is characterized by a remarkable unity of style, mostly the Gothic one imported by architect Jean Deschamps into the Midi from northern France;
 * - Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-Fleury): Fleury Abbey (Floriacum), one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of Western Europe, possesses the relics of St. Benedict of Nursia;


 * - Saint-Nectaire (Saint-Nectaire): a Romanesque church that stands on Mount Cornadore Saint-Nectaire in the department of Puy-de-Dôme and the Auvergne region is dedicated to Saint Nectarius of Auvergne (Saint Nectaire), associated with the site as the first evangelist of the region
 * - Tou­louse (Basilica of Saint-Sernin): constructed in the Romanesque style between about 1080 and 1120 and noted for the quality and quantity of its Romanesque sculpture, in 1998 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the current church is located on the site of a previous basilica of the 4th century which contained the body of Saint Saturnin or Sernin, the first bishop of Toulouse in c. 250;


 * - Véze­lay (Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalen): previous Benedictine abbey church is one of the outstanding masterpieces of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture; about 1050 the monks of Vézelay began to claim to hold the relics of Mary Magdalene; saint Bernard of Clairvaux preached there in favor of a second crusade at Easter 1146, in front of King Louis VII.