Brigitte Bardot Mourned a Church That ‘Lost Its Mystery’ and Closed Its Doors

 In a 2024 interview the French movie star who died on Sunday lamented the modernisation of the liturgy and expressed hope that Catholic worship would "regain greater respect and importance."

EDWARD PENTIN

Dec 30, 2025

Brigitte Bardot meeting Pope John Paul II in 1995. 

Brigitte Bardot, the French movie star who died on Sunday aged 91, expressed concerns last year about the state of the Catholic Church and the modern Mass, and spoke fondly of the traditional Latin Mass of her childhood.

Asked by Clémence Nava of Aleteia for her view of Catholicism today, she replied:

“I feel that Mass has lost some of its mystery, a certain warmth of soul. When I was a child, I attended church with my parents every Sunday. I remember the sense of mystery that emanated from that magnificent place.

The priest celebrated with his back to us, in Latin. It’s such a pity that this was modernized. Celebrating Mass facing the congregation feels to me like a theatrical performance. I would describe myself as a traditionalist. I’d like to see Catholic worship regain greater respect and importance.

There are so many people of good will and deep faith who no longer practice. So many churches are closed… You can’t even go in to pray. It’s tragic.

And when I think of Notre-Dame burning… it’s as if we are living in a satanic, negative, destructive era.”

Elsewhere in the September 2024 interview Bardot said that although she was not practicing her faith, she was proud to be Catholic. “Faith is within me, no more and no less than before. I have faith,” she said, and revealed that she had a “very small oratory” on her estate in Saint-Tropez which gave her “wonderful peace.” Bardot also revealed she had a strong devotion to Our Lady, saying she liked to “speak to her directly” rather than through an intermediary.

Famous also for her animal rights activism, Bardot said she had a devotion also to St. Francis of Assisi, whom she called “the beacon of animal protection.” She also spoke of her devotion to Padre Pio, saying she found these saints “particularly wonderful, sensitive, generous, good — the kind you hardly see anymore.” But she said she had “no admiration whatsoever” for Pope Francis who, she said, had done nothing to protect animals and never replied to her two letters to him asking him to take action.

More: https://x.com/edwardpentin/status/2006028930944311560?s=46&t=IydJ-X8H6c0NM044nYKQ0w