The Committee for the safeguard of the cross

The committee that had been formed on February 19^th 2005 in order to clarify the patrimonial value of a cross located at the foot of a waterfront hill (côte à Mogène) in the village of Sainte-Croix de Lotbinière has finally been given access to the archives of the parish of Sainte-Croix on November 19^th 2007 after numerous unfruitful attempts. One of the searchers, M. Claude LeMay, has found a document that in a way turned out to be the missing piece to the puzzle of this inquiry. This document has in fact made it possible to conclude that the first church built by our ancestor Louis Houde on his farm was, along with the adjoining cemetery, located in the immediate vicinity of the cross. Thus, the cross at the foot of the Mogène hill, locates the birth place of the Sainte-Croix parish and for us, the Louis Houde offspring it locates our ancestor's farm as well as those of his two sons Gervais and Louis the elder. It is thus an important break-through that was achieved on November 19^th of last year.

The final report on The evaluation of the patrimonial value of the site at the foot of the Mogène hill was completed in February 2008 and was approved the your Board at its February 16^th 2008 quarterly meeting. A copy of the report will be forwarded to the Sainte-Croix Municipal Council in order for them to take the appropriate steps for the protection of the patrimonial monument that the cross has become. The Committee has not been dissolved and its members will make themselves available to the Municipal Council to assist them in the execution of the various formalities required to protect the cross.

Barring untoward event, the integral text of the Committee final report will be published in the Summer 2008 issue of Le Manousien.

Médéric Desrochers (531)
President of the Committee