Abbé Pierre,
OFM Cap
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...
, (born Henri Marie Joseph Grouès;
5 August 191222 January 2007) was a French
Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
, member of the
Resistance during World War II, and deputy of the
Popular Republican Movement
The Popular Republican Movement (french: Mouvement Républicain Populaire, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Sc ...
(MRP).
In 1949, he founded the
Emmaus
Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...
movement, with the goal of helping poor and homeless people and refugees. He was one of the most popular figures in France but had his name removed from such polls after some time.
Le top 50 des personnalités
', 12/06, sondage IFOP pour Le Journal du Dimanche
''Le Journal du dimanche'' (English: ''Sunday's newspaper'') is a French weekly newspaper published on Sundays in France.
History and profile
''Le Journal du Dimanche'' was created by Pierre Lazareff in 1948. He was managing editor of '' Fran ...
p.12 et suivantes
Youth and education
Grouès was born on 5 August 1912 in Lyon, France to a wealthy Catholic family of
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
traders, the fifth of eight children. His aunt was the writer
Héra Mirtel. He spent his childhood in
Irigny, near Lyon. He was twelve when he met
François Chabbey and went for the first time with his father to an Order circle, the brotherhood of the ''"
Hospitaliers veilleurs"'' in which the mainly middle-class members would serve the poor by providing barber services.
Grouès became a member of the ''
Scouts de France'' in which he was nicknamed "Meditative Beaver" (''Castor méditatif''). In 1928, aged 16, he made the decision to join a monastic order, but he had to wait until he was seventeen and a half to fulfill this ambition. In 1931 Grouès entered the
Capuchin Order
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...
, the principal offshoot of the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
, renouncing his inheritances and offering all his possessions to charities.
Known as ''frère Philippe'' (Brother Philippe), he entered the monastery of
Crest in 1932, where he lived for seven years. He had to leave in 1939 after developing severe lung infections, which made the strict and hard monastic life difficult to cope with. He became
chaplain to the hospital of
La Mure (Isère), and then of an orphanage in the
Côte-Saint-André (also in the Isère department).
After being
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
a Roman Catholic priest on 24 August 1938, he became
curate of
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
's cathedral in April 1939, only a few months before the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
.
The
Jesuit Fr.
Henri de Lubac
Henri-Marie Joseph Sonier de Lubac (; 20 February 1896 – 4 September 1991), better known as Henri de Lubac, was a French Jesuit priest and cardinal who is considered one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century. His writin ...
told him on the day of his priestly ordination: "ask the Holy Spirit to grant you the same
anti-clericalism of the saints."
World War II
When
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
broke out in 1939, he was mobilised as a
non-commissioned officer in the train transport corps. According to his official biography, he helped Jewish people to escape
Nazi persecution following the July 1942 mass arrests in Paris, called the ''
Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv'', and another raid in the area of Grenoble in the non-occupied zone: "In July 1942, two fleeing Jews asked him for help. Having discovered the persecution taking place, he immediately went to learn how to make false passports. Starting in August 1942, he guided Jewish people to Switzerland".
His pseudonym dates from his work with the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
during the Second World War, when he operated under several different names. Based in Grenoble, an important center of the Resistance, he helped Jews and politically persecuted escape to Switzerland. In 1942, he assisted
Jacques de Gaulle (the brother of
Charles de Gaulle) and his wife escape to Switzerland.
[Il aurait mérité dix fois d'être fait "Juste parmi les nations"](_blank)
testimony of Jean-Claude Duclos, curator of the Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de l'Isère, in '' Libération'', 25 January 2007
He participated in establishing a section of the ''
maquis'' where he officially became one of the local leaders in the
Vercors Plateau
The Vercors Massif is a range in France consisting of rugged plateaus and mountains straddling the '' départements'' of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, from which it is separated by the rivers Dr ...
and in the
Chartreuse Mountains
The Chartreuse Mountains (french: massif de la Chartreuse ) are a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble in the south to the Lac du Bourget in the north. They are part of the French Prealps, which continu ...
. He helped people to avoid being taken into the ''
Service du travail obligatoire
The ' ( en, Compulsory Work Service; STO) was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II.
The STO was created under law ...
'' (STO), the Nazi forced-labour program agreed upon with
Pierre Laval
Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occ ...
, by creating in
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
the first refugee for resistants to the STO; he founded the clandestine newspaper ''L'Union patriotique indépendante''.
[L'insurgé de la bonté](_blank)
''L'Humanité
''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist."
History and profile
Pre-World Wa ...
'', 23 January 2007 [In ''Le Monde''s obituary, in English]
"ABBÉ PIERRE, FOUNDER OF EMMAÜS, IS DEAD"
, 23 January 2007
) For a time, in 1943, he was given shelter by
Lucie Coutaz, a Resistance member who later became his secretary and was his assistant in his charity work until her death in 1982.
He was arrested twice, once in 1944 by the Nazi police in the city of
Cambo-les-Bains
Cambo-les-Bains (; eu, Kanbo) is a town in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It lies on the south-western bank of the river Nive. Cambo-les-Bains station has rail ...
in the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...
, but was quickly released and travelled to Spain then
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
before joining the
Free French Forces
__NOTOC__
The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...
of General de Gaulle in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
.
In the Free North Africa, he became a
chaplain in the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
on the battleship ''
Jean Bart
Jean Bart (; ; 21 October 1650 – 27 April 1702) was a French naval commander and privateer.
Early life
Jean Bart was born in Dunkirk in 1650 to a seafaring family, the son of Jean-Cornil Bart (c. 1619-1668) who has been described variously a ...
'' in
Casablanca. He had become an important character and symbol of the French Resistance.
At the end of the war, he was awarded the
''Croix de guerre 1939-1945'' with bronze palms and the ''
Médaille de la Résistance
The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...
''. Like other members of the Resistance, his experience would mark him for life, teaching him the necessity of engaging himself to protect fundamental
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
through legal means and, if need be, through a sort of
civil disobedience doctrine.
Political career (1945–51) and the 1960s/70s
When the war was over, following de Gaulle's entourage's advice and the approbation of the
archbishop of Paris, Abbé Pierre was elected
deputy for
Meurthe-et-Moselle department in both
National Constituent Assemblies in 1945–1946 as an independent close to the
Popular Republican Movement
The Popular Republican Movement (french: Mouvement Républicain Populaire, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Sc ...
(MRP), mainly consisting of Christian democratic members of the Resistance. In 1946, he was re-elected as a member of the National Assembly, but this time as a member of the MRP. Abbé Pierre became vice-president of the
World Federalist Movement
The World Federalist Movement advocates strong democratic institutions adhering to the principles of subsidiarity, solidarity and democracy.
The movement formed in the 1930s and 1940s by citizens groups concerned that the structure of the ne ...
in 1947, a universal federalist movement.
After a bloody accident resulting in the death of a blue-collar worker, Édouard Mazé, in Brest in 1950, Abbé Pierre decided to put an end to his MRP affiliation on 28 April 1950, writing a letter titled ''"Pourquoi je quitte le MRP"'' ("Why I quit the MRP"), where he denounced the political and social attitude of the MRP party. He then joined the
Christian socialist
Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...
movement named ''
Ligue de la jeune République'', created in 1912 by
Marc Sangnier
Marc Sangnier (; 3 April 1873, Paris – 28 May 1950, Paris) was a French Roman Catholic thinker and politician, who in 1894 founded '' Le Sillon'' ("The Furrow"), a social Catholic movement.
Work
Sangnier aimed to bring the Catholic Church i ...
, but decided to finally end his political career. In 1951, before the end of his mandate, he returned to his first vocation: to help homeless people. With the small indemnities he received as a deputy, he invested in a run-down house near Paris in the wealthy
Neuilly-Plaisance neighbourhood. Astounding his neighbours, the priest began to repair the roof and the whole house, and finally made of it the first Emmaüs base (because, according to him, it was simply too big for one person).
Although the Abbé then put a definitive end to his involvement in
representative politics, preferring to invest his energies in the Emmaus charity movement, he never completely abandoned the political field, taking strong stances on many and various subjects.
Thus, when the
decolonization
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...
movement was slowly beginning to emerge in the whole world, he attempted in 1956 to convince Tunisian leader
Habib Bourguiba to obtain independence without using violence. Present in various international conferences at the end of the 1950s, he met Colombian priest
Camilo Torres (1929–1966), a predecessor of
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". I ...
, who asked for his advice on the Colombian Church's criticism of "workers' priests." He was also received by US president
Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
and
Mohammed V of Morocco
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
in 1955 and 1956.
In 1962 he resided for several months in
Charles de Foucauld
Charles Eugène de Foucauld de Pontbriand, Viscount of Foucauld (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916) was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuareg people in the Sahara in Alg ...
's retreat in
Béni-Abbés (Algeria).
The Abbé was then called to India in 1971 by
Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' ( Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for l ...
to represent, along with the ''
Ligue des droits de l'homme
The Human Rights League (french: Ligue des droits de l’homme ''t du citoyen' or LDH) of France is a Human Rights NGO association to observe, defend and promulgation of Rights Man within the French Republic in all spheres of public life. The ...
'' (Human Rights League) France in the issues of refugees.
Indira Gandhi then invited him to deal with the question of Bengali refugees, and the Abbé founded Emmaus communities in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
.
Emmaus
1949: the origin
Emmaus
Emmaus (; Greek: Ἐμμαούς, ''Emmaous''; la, Emmaus; , ''Emmaom''; ar, عمواس, ''ʻImwas'') is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before tw ...
(''Emmaüs'' in French) was started in 1949. Its name is a reference to a village in Israel appearing in the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
, where two disciples extended hospitality to Jesus just after his resurrection without recognizing him. In that way, Emmaus's mission is to help poor and homeless people. It is a secular organization. In 1950 the first community of Emmaus companions was created in
Neuilly-Plaisance close to Paris in France. The Emmaus community raises funds for the construction of housing by selling used goods. "Emmaus, it's a little like the wheelbarrow, the shovels and the pickaxes coming before the banners. A sort of social fuel derived from salvaging defeating men."
There were initial difficulties raising funds, so in 1952, Abbé Pierre decided to be a contestant on the
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
game show ''Quitte ou double'' (''Double or Nothing'') for the prize money; he ended up winning 256,000
francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
.
Winter 1954: "Uprising of kindness"
Abbé Pierre became famous during the extremely cold winter of 1954 in France, when
homeless people were dying in the streets. Following the failure of the projected law on lodgings, he gave a well-remembered speech on
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
on 1 February 1954, and asked ''
Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
'', a conservative newspaper which, as he said, was read by "the powerful", to publish his call:
The next morning, the press wrote of an "uprising of kindness" (''insurrection de la bonté'') and the now-famous call for help ended up raising 500 million francs in donations (
Charlie Chaplin gave 2 million
). This enormous amount was totally unexpected; telephone operators and the postal service were overwhelmed, and owing to the volume of donations, several weeks were needed just to sort them, distribute them, and find a place to stock them throughout the country. Moreover, this call attracted volunteers from all over the country to help them, including wealthy ''
bourgeoises'' who were emotionally shaken by the Abbé's call: first to do the redistribution, but then to duplicate the effort all around France. Quite quickly, Abbé Pierre had to organise his movement by creating the ''Emmaus communities'' on 23 March 1954.
In an Emmaus community, volunteers help homeless people by giving them accommodation, and somewhere to eat and work. A number of Emmaus volunteers are also formerly homeless people themselves, from all age groups, religious or ethnic origins, and social backgrounds. The Abbé Pierre strived to show desperate people that they too could help others, and thus that the weak could still help even weaker people.
A book was written by Boris Simon which described the misery of poor ragpicker communities, called "Abbé Pierre and the ragpickers of Emmaus" which helped spread knowledge about the Emmaus community.
In 1955 Abbé Pierre gives president Eisenhower an English translation of the book, in the oval office.
The Emmaus communities quickly spread worldwide. The Abbé traveled to
Beyrouth
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...
(Beirut, Lebanon) in 1959, to assist in the creation of the first multiconfessional Emmaus group there; it was founded by a
Sunni (Muslim), a
Melkite (Catholic) archbishop and a
Maronite (Christian) writer.
1980s to 2000s
After the
1981 election of President
François Mitterrand (
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
, PS) (during which he called for
blank vote), the Abbé Pierre supported the initiative of the French Premier
Laurent Fabius
Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician serving as President of the Constitutional Council since 8 March 2016. A member of the Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 Mar ...
(PS) to create in 1984 the ''
Revenu minimum d'insertion'' (RMI), a welfare system for indigents.
[Le diable et le Bon Dieu](_blank)
''Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
'', 26 January 2007
The same year, he organized the operation "Charity Christmas", which, relayed by ''
France Soir
''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...
'', brought 6 million Francs and 200 tons of products. The actor
Coluche
Michel Gérard Joseph Colucci (, ; 28 October 1944 – 19 June 1986), better known under his stage name Coluche (), was a French stage comedian and cinema actor. He adopted ''Coluche'' as a stage name at age 26, when he began his entertainment ca ...
, who had organized the charitable ''
Restos du Cœur'', offered him 150 million French cents received by his organisation.
Coluche's huge success with the Restos du Cœur, caused by his popularity (Coluche had even tried to present himself to the
1981 presidential election before withdrawing), convinced the Abbé again of the necessity and value of such charitable struggles and the usefulness of the media in such endeavours.
In 1983, he spoke with Italian President
Sandro Pertini
Alessandro "Sandro" Pertini (; 25 September 1896 – 24 February 1990) was an Italian socialist politician who served as the president of Italy from 1978 to 1985.
Early life
Born in Stella ( Province of Savona) as the son of a wealthy landow ...
to plead the cause of Vanni Mulinaris, imprisoned on charge of assistance to the
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...
(BR), and even observed eight days of
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
from 26 May to 3 June 1984 in the
Cathedral of Turin to protest against detention conditions of "Brigadists" in Italian prisons and the imprisonment without trial of Vanni Mulinaris, who was recognized innocent sometimes afterwards. Italian magistrate Carlo Mastelloni recalled in the ''
Corriere della Sera'' in 2007 that a niece of the Abbé was a secretary at Hyperion language school in Paris, directed by Vanni Mulinaris, and married to one of the Italians refugees then wanted by the Italian justice.
[«Quel giorno in Tribunale con lui Difese i terroristi rossi e l' Hyperion»](_blank)
, '' Corriere della Sera'', 23 January 2007 According to the ''Corriere della Sera'', it would even have been him who convinced then president François Mitterrand to grant protection from
extradition to left-wing Italian activists who took refuge in France and had broken with their past.
More than 20 years later, the
ANSA, Italian press agency, recalled that he had supported in 2005 one of his physicians, Michele d'Auria, who was a former member of ''
Prima Linea'', an Italian far-left group, and was accused of having participated in hold-ups during 1990. Like many other Italian activists, he had exiled himself to France during the "
years of lead", and then joined the Emmaus companions. ''
La Repubblica
''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnol ...
'' specified that Italian justice has recognized the innocence of all people close to the Hyperion School
Following the Abbé's death in January 2007, Italian magistrate Carlo Mastelloni declared to the ''
Corriere della Sera'' that during the abduction of
Aldo Moro
Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July 1 ...
Abbé Pierre had gone to the Christian Democrats' headquarters in Rome in an attempt to speak with its secretary
Benigno Zaccagnini
Benigno Zaccagnini (; 17 April 1912 – 5 November 1989) was an Italian politician and physician.
Biography
Born in Faenza, he graduated in Pediatrics in 1937. During World War II he acted as partisan, collaborating with Arrigo Boldrini in ...
, in favor of a "hard line" of refusal of negotiations along with the BR.
In 1988 Abbé Pierre met representatives of the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF) to discuss the difficult financial, monetary and human issues brought by the huge
Third World debt (starting in 1982, Mexico had announced it could not pay the service of its debt, triggering the 1980s
Latin American debt crisis). In the 1990s, the Abbé criticized the
apartheid regime in South Africa. In 1995, after a three-year-long
siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then be ...
, he went there to exhort nations of the world to put an end to the violence, and requested French military operation against the
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
positions in
Bosnia.
During the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
(1990–91), the Abbé directly addressed himself to US President
George H. W. Bush and Iraq President
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
. He asked French president François Mitterrand to engage himself in matters concerning refugees, in particular by the creation of a stronger organisation than the current
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (HCR). He encountered this year the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
during inter-religious peace encounters. A staunch supporter of the
Palestinian cause, he has attracted attention with some of his statements on the
Israeli-Palestine conflict[Nation to honour French activist](_blank)
''BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', 22 January 2007
His support "à titre amical" ("in title of friendship") for
in 1996 brought controversy. The "Garaudy Affair" had been revealed in January 1996 by the ''
'' satirical newspaper, which prompted a series of denunciations against his book, "The Foundational Myths of Israeli Politics," and led Garaudy to be charged of
). But Garaudy provoked public indignation when he announced in March that he was supported by the Abbé Pierre, who was immediately excluded from the honour committee of the
(International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism). The Abbé condemned those who tried to "negate, banalize or falsify the Shoah," but his continued support to Garaudy as a friend was criticized by all anti-racist, Jewish organisations (
, etc.) and the Church hierarchy. His friend
(and archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005) publicly disavowed him. The Abbé then went into retreat in the
. In the film documentary ''Un abbé nommé Pierre, une vie au service des autres'', the Abbé declared that his support had been towards the person of Roger Garaudy, and not towards his statements in his book, which he had not read.
The curator of the Deportation and Resistance Museum of the
department where Grouès carried on most of his Resistant activities declared that the Abbé would have merited ten times to be named
.
Following this 1996 controversial support to a personal acquaintance, the Abbé was shunned for a small period by the media,
although the Abbé remained a popular figure. In 2004, he went to Algeria after the rebuilding of lodgings by the Fondation Abbé Pierre, following the 2003 earthquake which destroyed parts of the country.
also brought controversy. His positions on social issues and engagements were at times explicitly socialist and opposed to the Church. He maintained a relationship with the progressive French Catholic
. Despite her work for the poor, her strict adherence to Catholic teaching on morality did not sit well with Abbé Pierre's left wing ideology. He had difficult relations with the Vatican. ''
'', not known for reporting the deaths of priests, did not report on his death right away in 2007. Even though it is not customary for the Pope to offer condolences on the death of individual priests, Abbé Pierre's supporters were heavily critical of
for not making an exception. Father Lombardi, spokesman of the Vatican, pointed journalists to the statement made by the French Church, while Benedict XVI did mention his death in private audiences. Official reactions from the Church came in two interviews of French cardinals,
. His criticisms of what he considered the lavish lifestyle of the Vatican got him a lot of publicity (especially when he reproached
for his expensive travels), but were not well received by the public.
lauded his "action in favor of poor": "Informed of the death of Abbe Pierre, the Holy Father gives thanks for his activity in favor of the poorest, by which he bore witness to the charity that comes from Christ. Entrusting to divine mercy this priest whose whole life was dedicated to fighting poverty, he asks the Lord to welcome him into the peace of His kingdom. By way of comfort and hope, His Holiness sends you a heartfelt apostolic blessing, which he extends to the family of the departed, to members of the communities of Emmaus, and to everyone gathering for the funeral."
His support for the
put him at odds with Christian tradition, Church leaders and a substantial portion of French Catholics that followed the traditional teaching of the Church. The same stances, according to
, made him popular among the declining number of left-wing Catholics in France.
In his book ''Mon Dieu... pourquoi?'' (God... Why?, 2005), co-written with
by having had casual sex with women. Despite very strong grassroots opposition to adoption by same-sex couples, Abbé Pierre dismissed people's concerns that it deprives children of a mother or father and turns them into objects. The Abbé also opposed the traditional Catholic policy on
.
Abbé Pierre had the distinction of having been voted France's most popular person for many years, though in 2003 he was surpassed by
, moving into second place. In 2005 Abbé Pierre came third in a television poll to choose ''
. He also received the
for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood among Peoples in 1991 "For having fought, throughout his life, for the defence of human rights, democracy and peace. For having entirely dedicated himself to helping to relieve spiritual and physical suffering. For having inspired – regardless of nationality, race or religion – universal solidarity with the Emmaus Communities."
He was regularly sick, particularly in the lungs when he was young. He was left unscathed in several dangerous situations:
* In 1950, while on a flight in India, he survived when his plane had to make an emergency landing due to engine failure.
* In 1963, his boat shipwrecked in the
, between Argentina and Uruguay. He survived by clinging to a wooden part of the boat, while around him 80 passengers died. Later on, while on a trip to Algiers, he showed the pocket knife, which had enabled him to survive this ordeal. He was full of gratitude also for the children lodged at an orphanage, and asked the cardinal archbishop of Algiers,
, to help out the orphanage (or Kasbah).
All of these experiences together created the image of Abbé Pierre being a ''miraculé''.
military hospital in Paris, following a lung infection, aged 94.
He took a stance on most social struggles: supporting
, assisting the homeless (the "Enfants de Don Quichotte" movement (end of 2006-start of 2007)) and social movements in favor of requisitioning empty buildings and offices (
), etc. He continued to read each day ''
'', the Christian social daily newspaper. In January 2007, he went to the National Assembly to oppose those deputies wanting to change the law on lodging for homeless people, promoted by President Jacques Chirac after the mobilization of the ''Enfants de Don Quichotte'' NGO.
) decided to give Abbé Pierre's name to the law, despite the latter's scepticism of the real value and use of the law. In 2005 he had opposed conservative deputies who wanted to reform the
on housing projects (''loi SRU''), which sought to impose a 20% housing project limit in each town, on penalty of fines.
After homage by dignitaries, several hundred ordinary Parisians (among them professor
, who struggled with the Abbé for the cause of homelessness) went to the Val-de-Grâce chapel to see Abbé Pierre's corpse. His funeral on 26 January 2007 at the
s, and of course the Companions of Emmaus, who were placed at the front of the congregation in the cathedral, according to Abbé Pierre's last wishes. He was buried in a cemetery in
where he used to live. Cardinal
, but it seems unlikely in the near future.