Father Eugène Lehembre, a member of the Chemin Neuf community living at the monastery in Tibhirine, tells us the story of the cross of the martyred monks.
The icon cross in the Tibhirine chapel was painted by a hermit from Ardèche, Sister Françoise, following instructions given by Christian de Chergé.
After the monks’ death, the cross was moved to Aiguebelle Abbey, where it remains today.
In 2016, it was replaced in Tibhirine by a cross of the same size, featuring a paper photocopy of the original.
In 2025, we in Tibhirine had the idea of replacing it with a genuine icon cross, asking a sister from the Chemin Neuf community, Sr Corinne Pesquet, who paints icons, to create a copy faithful to the original.
Corinne agreed and spent a weekend at Aiguebelle Abbey to see the icon and take a photograph of it. She then created it in her studio at the Maison de Montagnieu in Isère.
This cross measures approximately 130 cm by 90 cm.
The funding was provided by a brother who had previously financed the restoration of the statue of Mary, situated on the hill above the monastery.
Transport to Tibhirine was then arranged. Ania, a sister from the community, took care of this, as she was herself travelling from Lyon to Algiers.
The cross was in a crate and she took it with her as oversized checked luggage. The journey was a bit of an ordeal and Ania had a few anxious moments, but everything went well. The customs officers at Algiers airport were very helpful, encouraged by a letter of recommendation from our Cardinal Bishop Jean-Paul Vesco.
The cross is now in Tibhirine. It is waiting to be blessed by our bishop. It will no doubt be installed in May, during the diocesan pilgrimage, when we will celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the monks’ departure.
On the cross, Jesus is depicted alive and glorious: above him is the inscription in Arabic: “He is truly risen”. It is as if the monks are leaving us with these words: do not dwell on the suffering; look higher.