Christian De Chergé
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Charles-Marie Christian de Chergé, O.C.S.O (
Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...
, 18 January 1937 – 21 May 1996), was a French
Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
, one of the seven monks kidnapped from the
Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas The Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas (; ) is a Catholic monastery of Trappists, inaugurated on March 7, 1938, in Tibhirine, close to Médéa, in Algeria. The abbey became more known in 1996, when seven monks were kidnapped from the monastery, during t ...
in Tibhirine,
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, and believed to have been later killed by Islamists in 1996. He was beatified with eighteen others, the
Martyrs of Algeria The 19 martyrs of Algeria were a group of nineteen individuals slain in Algeria between 1994 and 1996 during the Algerian Civil War. They all were priests or professed religious belonging to religious congregations, including seven Trappist Cist ...
, on December 9, 2018.


Biography


Early life

He was born in Colmar,
Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...
, in an
aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...
ic military family (whose moto is ''Recte Semper''), and he spent part of his childhood in
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
,
French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...
, where his father was commander of the 67th Artillery Regiment of Africa. De Chergé family returned afterwards to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, settling in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he studied at the Sainte-Marie de Manceau School, from 1947 to 1954,"Christian de Chergé", Lysias Partners
/ref> directed by the Society of Mary, and was a
Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...
. He was a brilliant student at Sainte-Marie, winning at the year of his graduation the first Prize of Excellency. He felt the calling to the religious life since he was 8 years old.


Religious life

He entered Carmes Seminary, in Paris, in 1956. He returned to Algeria in 1959, during the
Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
, as a young officer. He would always remember that he had his life saved by an Algerian Muslim named Mohamed, a father of ten children, during an ambush. De Chergé told him that he would pray for him, but Mohamed answered him back: "I know that you will pray for me. But look, Christians don't know how to pray!" The next morning, he was found murdered. He never forgot this event, and later said: "In the blood of this friend, I knew that my calling to follow Christ meant to live, sooner or later, in the country where it was given to me the greatest gift of love". He returned to France, where he was ordained a priest at the
Church of Saint-Sulpice Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
, in Paris, in 1964. He was chaplain at the Basilica of Montmartre, from 1964 to 1969. He decided to enter the Atlas Abbey, in Tibhirine, Algeria, where he arrived, after a novitiate at
Aiguebelle Abbey Aiguebelle Abbey () is a Trappist monastery situated in the communes of Montjoyer and Réauville in the ''département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the natio ...
, in 1971. He studied Arab language and culture with the
White Fathers The White Fathers (), officially known as the Missionaries of Africa (), and abbreviated MAfr, are a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right (for men). They were founded in 1868 by Charles-Martial Allemand-Lavigerie, who w ...
at the
Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies The Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (, ; PISAI) is a Catholic Church, Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome focused on Arabic and Islamic culture, history and language. As of 2006, there have been over 1,300 ...
in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
from 1972 to 1974. In 1984, Atlas Abbey became a simple priory. He was elected prior the same year.


Study of Islam and the Quran

De Chergé during his time at the Atlas Abbey always encouraged the Islamic-Christian dialogue. He had a deep knowledge and a great respect for
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and the Arab and Islamic culture. He spoke several languages, including
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
,
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
,
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, and
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
. De Chérgé had a mystical night, during
Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
, on 21 September 1975, when it took place at the monastery chapel a common prayer between a Christian and a Muslim. He never ceased to deepen that faith in the unity of the two religions during his lifetime. He studied and meditated the suras of the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
concerning "Jesus, son of Mary", the "people of the Book", and the Christians, comparing the words and concepts of both religions, like "Mercy" and "the Merciful".


''Ribât-al-Salam''

He founded, with Claude Rault, of the Missionaries of Africa, who became bishop of
Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
, the group ''Ribât-al-Salam'' (''The Place of Peace''), who discussed the Muslim tradition and spirituality, in the Spring of 1979. In 1980, the group was joined by Sufi Muslims from the fraternity ''Alawya'', founded by Sheikh Ahmad al-Alawi. The group had regular meetings at the monastery, representing a place for dialogue and prayer between Christians and Muslims, in mutual respect.


Last years, kidnapping and death

In the early 1990s, Islamic fundamentalism threatened Algeria. In 1993, a group of armed men irrupted into the monastery shortly after the murder of twelve Croatians, three kilometers nearby. Dom De Chérgé had a bad feeling and decided to write his now famous testament, for two times, on 1 December 1993 and 1 January 1994. It would be published in the newspaper '' La Croix'', shortly after his death, on 29 May 1996, and it became known as the ''Spiritual Testament of Christian de Chérgé''. In the night of 26 to 27 March 1996, a group of 20 armed men from the
GIA ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizab ...
entered the monastery at 1:45 AM. They took seven monks' captive, including one, Brother Bruno, who was a visitor from
Fès Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to the 2024 census. Located to the nort ...
,
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. Two monks escaped the kidnappers. A message signed by the GIA announced that the seven monks had been beheaded on 21 May 1996. It is still uncertain who killed them, because some sources claim that they died during an airstrike from the Algerian Air Force. Father de Chergé and the other monks were buried in the Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas cemetery.


Beatification process

The Diocese of Algiers started the process for the beatification of Christian de Chergé and the monks of Tibhirine in 1996. On 7 October 2013, the Order of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance announced that the Archbishop of Algiers, with the agreement of the Abbot General and his council, had nominated Father Thomas Georgeon, his Secretary General, as the postulator of the process of beatification of Archbishop Pierre Lucien Claverie and 18 companions, including the 7 Tibhirine monks. The
Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...
approved the appointment on 11 October 2013. The beatification took place in
Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...
,
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, on 8 December 2018. He was one of the 19 people beatified as the
Martyrs of Algeria The 19 martyrs of Algeria were a group of nineteen individuals slain in Algeria between 1994 and 1996 during the Algerian Civil War. They all were priests or professed religious belonging to religious congregations, including seven Trappist Cist ...
.


Books

*''Dieu pour Tout Jour: Chapitres de Père Christian de Chergé à la Communauté de Tibhirine (1985-1996)'' (2006) *''L'Autre que Nous Attendons: Homélies de Père Christian de Chergé (1970-1996)'' (2009) *''L'Invincible Espérance'' (2010), compilation of texts by Bruno Chenu. *''Lettres à Un Ami Fraternel'' (2015), letters to Father Maurice Borrmans (1974-1995).


References


Further reading

* Salenson, Christian.
Christian de Chergé: A Theology of Hope
'. Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical Press Saint John's Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Collegeville Township, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with the American-Cassinese Congregation. The abbey was established following the arrival in the area of monks from Saint Vincent Arc ...
, 2009


External links


Father Christian de Chérgé ocso and the Dialogue with Islam, Article by Armand VeilleuxLast Testament - A Letter from the Monks of the Tibhirine / by Christian de Chergé, August 1996, First Things
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherge, Christian de 1937 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Christian mystics People from Colmar French Christian mystics 20th-century French Roman Catholic priests Cistercian mystics Trappists 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs French beatified people People killed by Islamic terrorism Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies alumni