At the meeting point of les trois évêques

Lavaur and les trois évêques on Animoto.

AS the rain tumbled down it was the salle des fêtes in Lavaur, rather than the nearby spring, that hosted the eighth meeting of les trois évêques or the three bishops.

The small Dordogne hamlet is home to a water source that trickles from the hillside and marks the point where the borders of the Lot, Lot-et-Garonne and the Dordogne once met, writes Carol Miers.

In 1506 in order to avoid paying a tithe and acting on advice from the local Baron de Biron, the three bishops began meeting at the source on Easter Monday to discuss business.

Nobody knows exactly what had to be discussed but the custom was restarted in 2005 as a convivial affair with cakes, crepes, beignet and a glass or two of wine.

This Easter Monday there was no serious business to report, but the Archbishop of Périgueux said that to have come with a conflict would be appropriate, as their role was to resolve them.

Before that they drank a champagne toast, commenting that while in charge of spirituality they had not succeeded in bringing good weather, so the bubbles in the glasses were replacing those in the spring.

Even so, along with the priests from Fumel, Cahors and Toulouse they noted that it was good to meet in troubled times and with the large crowd they then crossed the road to the church to say a prayer before leaving for the spring, rain notwithstanding.