L'abbé Ravette (1725 - 1794)

Born in Servaville on January 6, 1725, his father was a farmer and bursar of the local manor.

Father Ravette was the vicar in Saint André from 1751.

He was introduced by the Marquis de Joyeuse on 25 October 1754. Under the old regime the priest was appointed by the bishop but had to be introduced by a collator who could be the "patron". The patron was the founder of a church or his descendant or heir. This tradition tended to disappear in the middle of the 18th century because it minimized the power of the bishops. Pierre Ravette was installed parish priest of Saint André on November 12, 1754 by Pierre Dubois,  dean of Cailly.      

 The Marquise de Joyeuse, lord of Cailly, to whom he was very close, appointed him intendant of her domain, reserved a room for him in her hall of Saint Germain and gratefully made him build the presbytery, the current town hall.

For her second marriage, the Marquise de Joyeuse, although living in the parish of Saint Eustache in Paris, obtained permission to have it celebrated in Saint André sur Cailly by Father Ravette on November 6, 1777. Similarly, her third marriage also took place in Saint André on July 27, 1784, celebrated by the same Pierre Ravette.

The stone carved in the shape of a seat called "priest's chair" was used by the abbot when he answered the questions of his parishioners.

On February 9, 1775 this priest sent a letter stating the dramatic situation of the many poor of his parish but never obtained the slightest obol from Saint Ouen clerics.

During the Revolution, he took the oath to the civil constitution of the clergy on February 6, 1791. He read the texts of laws during the Sunday sermon as he had to do even if he complained that he had had the texts only at the last moment, which provoked a conflict with the mayor in June 1793. In February 1794 the district directory ordered him to pay his taxes on the wheat he had harvested, which he refused to do at the time.

On 9 germinal year II (29 March 1794) he resigned from the municipal council. Until that date, he had belonged to the municipal power.

Father Ravette died on May 23, 1794 at the age of 69, during the epidemic of Year 2.

His property was sold on June 29, 1794 "for the benefit of the Republic" as his conflicts during the last year had probably strained his relationships with the revolutionary authorities.