SW News: The fate of a famed Marian statue on the French island of Ile de Re hangs in the balance as an administrative court on March 3 will pronounce its verdict on whether the statue should be removed from its location or not.

Located in the middle of crossroads in La Flotte-en-Re on the Ile de Re is the beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin, which has now stirred a controversy. An anti-clerical Association for the Defense of Secularism has taken cudgels against the sacred image by citing the 1905 law that forbids erecting religious monuments or symbols on public property.

The case has been taken to the administrative court of Poitiers and the judgement will be pronounced on March 3. Catholics on the island are keeping their fingers crossed expecting a favorable ruling allowing the statue to remain. For them, the statue of the Virgin has been an integral part of the religious fabric of the island for decades. It was erected by grateful residents of the island when many young men returned safely from the battlefield during World War II.

The association raised a hue and cry when the town decided to reinstall the statue of the Virgin after it suffered damage when a car rammed into it in May 2020. Soon after it was reinstalled at the entrance of the town, the association took legal action.