Parishes find a trick for connecting with people: French cafés

“For us, our parish café is a way of extending Christian hospitality,” explains Magalie, a lay pastoral worker at the parish of Saint Pierre de Crussol in Guilherand-Granges (in Ardèche, France). Like a priest who opens the doors of the church, she has been opening the doors of Le Frat' café every day since it opened in June 2024. Throughout France, these centers of social activity support parish life — but above all, they offer real meeting places that many people find easier to enter than the church itself.

Very often, it’s parishioners who volunteer to run these community centers. In Guilherand-Granges, around twenty people take turns during the week, helped during the school holidays by local young people. While they all know how to serve coffee, tea, soft drinks, and cookies, they’re trained above all to listen and to ensure that customers are made to feel welcome.

Many come to drink coffee and, little by little, open up. Others enjoy a short break with friends. And then there are the more discreet ones, those who ask for nothing but who, in reality, are simply looking for company.

Magalie recounts: "For a long time, an 85-year-old lady, who was completely alone, came every morning and stayed at the café until it closed at noon. With a few parishioners, we got into the habit of having lunch together after closing time. One day, I went to see her and invited her to join us. She accepted... and began to cry with joy. She told me that thanks to this moment, she would feel less alone."

Muriel de Raucourt, manager of the Curieux café-bookstore in Boulogne-Billancourt, recounts a similar experience. This café-bookstore is a franchise of La Procure. Its motto says a lot about what goes on there: “Through hospitality, some have unwittingly welcomed angels” (Heb. 13:2). Attached to the Sainte Cécile parish, this place is much more than just a neighborhood café. 

“The idea is to attract people, thanks to books and coffee, who wouldn’t spontaneously walk through the doors of a parish space,” explains Muriel de Raucourt.

Indeed, the window facing the street attracts customers with secular books, while the one facing the parish alleyway showcases religious books. A neighbor of the bookstore, a mother with her children, a curious passerby, a young person looking for a place to work, or someone seeking comfort; whether they’re Christian or not, everyone is warmly welcomed here. The café is manned by two employees, supported by a team of 45 volunteers who take turns working Monday through Sunday. “I like to come here with a friend for coffee after dropping the kids off at school. It's quiet, welcoming, and you can even leave with a book!” explains Julie, 37.

These parish cafés are not only places of welcome; they’re also spaces for the discreet proclamation of Christ, starting with the products sold there. In the café Les Curieux, for example, you can find a parish-branded beer with a quote from the Gospel on its label and the Sunday Mass times, written as an invitation to quench a different kind of thirst.

In Bethel, a bar in Nice located in the courtyard of a church, the presence of Father Frédéric Sangès, pastor of Saint Jean XXIII parish, encourages conversation. It was he who had the idea for this place in order to bring society closer to the Church.

“People often start conversations with me, or sometimes I don't hesitate to sit down at a table to talk to them,” the priest told Aleteia in 2024. In five years, he has received several requests for catechism, marriage preparation, and numerous confessions. Not to mention the fact that the profits from the sale of drinks have made it possible to rewire the electricity in this church in Old Nice.

In Paris's 16th arrondissement, the parish of Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal is located almost right next to the Parc des Princes soccer stadium, where the Paris Saint-Germain FC team plays. There, it’s the lively music and, above all, the smell of grilled sausages that attract hungry sports fans. For the past four years, volunteers from the parish—including scouts—have been selling sandwiches and drinks twice a month.

“The goal is threefold: to create a buzz around the parish, to raise funds for parish associations (food drives, pilgrimages, children's garden) and to give a missionary dimension by interacting with people,” says Renaud de Saint Sernin, head of the Grillade de Sainte Jeanne.

“It's the best grill in Paris: community-based and charitable!” he says to attract customers. And it seems to be working, with up to 700 sausages sold every game night at a price ranging from $6 to $9. An added bonus that appeals to customers is that the products are fresh and local.

“The sauces are homemade, the meat is bought from the local butcher, and the bread comes from the nearby bakery,” notes Renaud de Saint Sernin. Compliments are flying! “It's really good, and if it can serve a good cause, that's great!” says a young fan.

Whether in French, English, or Spanish, each purchase sparks a conversation, punctuated by the sound of bells. The fans are often very generous, rounding up their bills and leaving impromptu tips. For example, a riot police officer once paid for a €6 sandwich with a €20 bill, leaving the rest to the parish.

Sometimes the parish priest, Father Nicolas Troussel, is present. He doesn’t hesitate to chat with those who are enjoying a break in the parish garden before the game. Between predictions about the scores and sometimes conversations about faith, real moments of grace are experienced there. “One evening, a supporter took the opportunity to have his medal blessed,” recalls a volunteer.

Thus, in the heart of cities and villages alike, parish cafés become places where a simple, fraternal, and open humanity is woven. Muriel de Raucourt describes it as “a true mission field.” These are places that alleviate loneliness, where encounters happen naturally, where believers, neighbors, curious onlookers, and passersby mingle without distinction. Friendships are formed, confidences are shared, and acts of kindness circulate discreetly. And this is how the Church concretely connects with people's lives!

It remains to be seen if this initiative will be (or already is) reproduced in other countries. Let’s hope this kind of inventiveness flourishes and bears fruit as part of the New Evangelization.