When you first discover Martinique and Guadeloupe, one of the first things that strikes you is how visible the Catholic atmosphere is on both islands: churches, chapels, oratories, grottoes dedicated to Marian devotion, Stations of the Cross and calvaries line the seafronts, roads, forests, fields and even some private gardens. The major events of the liturgical year are celebrated with great festivities. In the churches of the 89 parishes (47 in Martinique, 42 in Guadeloupe), Sunday Mass, celebrated with infectious fervor, is still packed, and young people are strongly represented.

And yet the painful history of these islands, scarred by the wound of slavery, could well have led to the rejection of a faith brought over by the former slave owners. This documentary seeks to understand how the combined efforts of the Catholic clergy and the faithful, by embracing Creole social and cultural specificities, helped to shape West Indian identity. Through the emancipating message of the Gospel, they also helped build the unity of a people born “neither in freedom, nor in the joy of living together.”