Witch Confraternity Mass. Invocations to the "Fairy Carabosse"

Scandal at the Guémené-Penfao Mass: Witches in the Spotlight

This Sunday, June 1, 2025, the Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul Church in Guémené-Penfao, in the Sainte-Anne-sur-Don-et-Vilaine Parish Complex (diocese of Nantes), was the scene of a disturbing event during Holy Mass, a case reported exclusively on Lecatho.fr by one of the Parishioners were outraged by this initiative.

NB They use the French word for confraternity.

The usual fervor of the parishioners, supported by a choir that does remarkable work, devoted altar servers, and entire families who are deeply Catholic and respectful, was overshadowed by an incongruous intrusion: the official participation of the "Confraternity of the Fairy Carabosse" in the Sunday liturgy. This episode, far from trivial, raises serious questions about respect for the sacred and the responsibility of the local clergy.

The Parish of Guémené-Penfao is known for the vitality of its faith. Thanks to the exceptional work of Father Arnaud de Guilbert, who was able to fill a once-deserted church, the community has rebuilt itself around a genuine fervor. The faithful, from entire families to altar servers, are zealously committed to the Church, supported by a magnificent choir that lifts hearts during celebrations. Yet, this Sunday, Father Arnaud's soul-reclaiming work was compromised by a clumsy, even scandalous initiative.

Members of the "Brotherhood of the Fairy Carabosse," dressed in witch-like costumes, including black capes, red ruffs, and pointy hats, were invited to attend the Mass. Worse, they occupied the front rows, reserved by a sort of "grand mistress witch," surely the Grand Master, as stipulated on their website—a title identical to that of the Freemasons, incidentally—who, from the square, distributed the Mass program while directing the faithful where to sit, relegating the parishioners to the back of the church. This display, disrespectful to the faithful and the holy place, shocked the congregation.

Who is this famous Carabosse, whose memory the "Gentes Dames" came to honor during mass? Originally, the fairy Carabosse is a character from the folklore of the Don Valley, in the Guémené-Penfao region. The story goes that she took revenge on the mockery of the peasants by cursing them, and that she was then petrified after a poorly reversed spell.

Carabosse is neither a saint nor an edifying heroine. She's a menacing, vengeful figure, associated with curses, who looks more like a witch than a saint. She inspired the name "Wicked Fairy" in Perrault's tale, Sleeping Beauty. And it must be said bluntly: this type of figure, even a folkloric one, has no place in a church.

The group itself acknowledges that their costume has long been mistaken for that of witches. This is no accident: the large red collar, the long black sleeves, the wide-brimmed hat—everything recalls classic Satanic iconography. And instead of learning a lesson from this, they simply added a veil to their hat, thinking it would create a diversion.

A Blasphemous "Oath" within the sanctuary

The icing on the cake is that this group does not just parade in costume. It also has a well-established "induction oath," dating from July 16, 2011, in which members promise each year to "wear their costume" to "honor the fame" of Carabosse, and to promote their pseudo-cultural activities under the guise of a "return to the customs of yesteryear."

Here is the entire solemn oath they recite:

"Every year you will,

A solemn return to the customs of yesteryear

And put on your costume,

With the hat with the wide brim so becoming.

When having donned this garb

Proud of these attributes of a past close to us,

You'll be able to approach the ancestral table.

Fairy Carabosse, we swear an oath on this day,

To restore your former fame. A constant effort on the cultural aspect,

Our activities will always be focused on,

Maintaining heritage and recalling the past,

The pleasure of good taste, the taste for nature,

Both in our legends and in our fine food,

To raise to the highest,

Our land of Guémené Penfao”

Invoking a folkloric figure, even under the guise of local heritage, in a place dedicated to Christ is a serious offense. These practices, far from being an innocent cultural celebration, border on blasphemy by introducing pagan elements into the liturgy.

Incomprehensible tolerance from the clergy

Father Arnaud de Guilbert, the parish priest, and Father Gaston, who celebrated Mass this Sunday, both tolerated this intrusion. When questioned, Father Arnaud downplayed the incident, explaining that the invitation came from a parishioner, without knowing the details. However, this is not the first time that this brotherhood participates in the mass: a few years ago, a similar incident had already occurred. This recurrence calls into question the vigilance of the clergy.

This is not the only troubling precedent. During a day organized by Secours Catholique, posters with dubious messages, including one proclaiming "I change the world with a migrant," were posted above the crosses, near the altar, and on a pillar, under the approving eye of a moralizing volunteer. These initiatives, which combine social activism with spiritual ambiguities, contrast with the noble actions of Father Arnaud, who opens the doors of the church wide to pagan folklore, masked occultism, and symbols that have nothing Christian about them. What he allows is in no way a Catholic rooting: it is an infiltration of paganism into the sanctuary of God. It is not a celebration of culture; it is a desecration. And what happened This Sunday is more than just a blunder: it is a serious compromise with elements contrary to the faith.

The hats, the costumes, the invocations to the "Fairy Carabosse," an evil spirit in local legends, are not trivial. This kind of masquerade should have been firmly rejected, not welcomed into the church choir. The altar is dedicated to the sacrifice of Christ, not to pagan tales or folkloric witch parades.

One wonders if the clergy of this diocese truly appreciates the gravity of such liturgical, doctrinal, and symbolic confusion. In an era where the true Faith is trampled, where our churches are closing, where the faithful are ridiculed, and where priests who stand firm are marginalized or sent to the periphery, how can we arrive at such excesses?

This is not how we rebuild the Church. This is not how we defend the faith of the little ones, nor how we honors the real presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist. This can truly be perceived as a betrayal and ruin years of work. There can be no "cultural tolerance," because it ultimately leads to desacralization, abuse, and spiritual disorientation.

Grotesque disguises in the service of what message?

In the photos taken during this liturgical masquerade, we see disguised women flanked by men in aprons, which adds even more confusion and ambiguity. We no longer know if we are in a Catholic procession, a reenactment of a pagan Sabbath, or a poor country carnival.

And all this during Mass, that is, during the renewal of the Sacrifice of the Cross. The most sacred of sacraments is trampled underfoot, trivialized, reduced to a foil for a secular performance.

A necessary reaction from the faithful

This kind of aberration does not can no longer be ignored. The faithful have the right, and even the duty, to protest vigorously. Silence is complicity.

We demand:

a public explanation from the priest;

an act of liturgical reparation for this desecration;

and above all, that the Diocese of Nantes put an end to this logic of compromise between paganism and the Catholic faith.

We are not playing with fire. This kind of charade opens the door to unhealthy spiritual influences and trivializes the sacred in an era that is in need of clarity, truth, and holiness. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not give himself on the Cross so that a local witch could be honored in his sanctuary. May priests rediscover the meaning of the sacred.

May the Faithful rise up and say: no, that's enough.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us. We desire a liturgy that uplifts souls, not scandalizes them. May this scandal be an occasion for a spiritual leap for the local Church.

Source  And more photographs