Abbé Pierre
The Rev. Abbé Pierre | |
---|---|
Born | Henri Marie Joseph Grouès 5 August 1912 |
Died | 22 January 2007 | (aged 94)
Abbé Pierre,
In 1949, he founded the Emmaus 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.[2]
Youth and education
Grouès was born on 5 August 1912 in Lyon, France to a wealthy Catholic family of silk 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
Known as frère Philippe (Brother Philippe), he entered the monastery of Crest in 1932, where he lived for seven years and was made a Roman Catholic priest on 24 August 1938. 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 sick at several places[3] and then was nominated as curate of Grenoble's cathedral in April 1939, only a few months before the invasion of Poland.[4]
The theologian Henri de Lubac told him on the day of his priestly ordination: "ask the Holy Spirit to grant you the same anti-clericalism of the saints."[5]
World War II
When World War II 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 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.[6] In 1942, he assisted Jacques de Gaulle (the brother of Charles de Gaulle) and his wife escape to Switzerland.[7]
He participated in establishing a section of the
He was arrested twice, once in 1944 by the Nazi police in the city of
At the end of the war, he was awarded the
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
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
Although Grouès put a definitive end to his involvement in
The Abbé was then called to India in 1971 by
Emmaus
1949: the origin
Emmaus (Emmaüs in French) was started in 1949. Its name is a reference to a village in Israel appearing in the Gospel of Luke, 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."[10]
There were initial difficulties raising funds, so in 1952, Abbé Pierre decided to be a contestant on the
Winter 1954: "Uprising of kindness"
Abbé Pierre became famous during the extremely cold winter of 1954 in France, when
My friends, come help ... A woman froze to death tonight at 3:00 AM, on the pavement of Sebastopol Boulevard, clutching the eviction notice which the day before had made her homeless... Each night, more than two thousand endure the cold, without food, without bread, more than one almost naked. To face this horror, emergency lodgings are not enough.
Hear me; in the last three hours, two aid centers have been created: one under canvas at the foot of the
Panthéon, on Montagne Sainte-Geneviève Street; the other in Courbevoie. They are already overflowing, we must open them everywhere. Tonight, in every town in France, in every quarter of Paris, we must hang out placards under a light in the dark, at the door of places where there are blankets, bunks, soup; where one may read, under the title 'Fraternal Aid Center', these simple words: 'If you suffer, whoever you are, enter, eat, sleep, recover hope, here you are loved'.The forecast is for a month of harsh frosts. For as long as the winter lasts, for as long as the centers exist, faced with their brothers dying in poverty, all mankind must be of one will: the will to make this situation impossible. I beg of you, let us love one another enough to do it now. From so much pain, let a wonderful thing be given unto us: the shared spirit of France. Thank you! Everyone can help those who are homeless. We need, tonight, and at the latest tomorrow, five thousand blankets, three hundred big American tents, and two hundred catalytic stoves. Bring them quickly to the Hôtel Rochester, number ninety-two, la Boetie Street. The rendez-vous for volunteers and trucks to carry them: tonight at eleven, in front of the tent on Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. Thanks to you, no man, no child, will sleep on the asphalt or on the waterfronts of Paris tonight.[11]
Thank you.
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[8]). 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. [citation needed]
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. [citation needed]
The Emmaus communities quickly spread worldwide. The Abbé traveled to
1980s to 2000s
After the
The same year, he organized the operation "Charity Christmas", which, relayed by
In 1983, he spoke with Italian President
More than 20 years later, the
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 Abbé Pierre had gone to the Christian Democrats' headquarters in Rome in an attempt to speak with its secretary Benigno Zaccagnini, in favor of a "hard line" of refusal of negotiations along with the BR.[15]
In 1988 Abbé Pierre met representatives of the
During the
His support "à titre amical" ("in title of friendship") for
The curator of the Deportation and Resistance Museum of the Isère department where Grouès carried on most of his Resistant activities declared that the Abbé would have merited ten times to be named Righteous Among the Nations for his struggle in favor of Jews during Vichy.[7]
Following this 1996 controversial support to a personal acquaintance, the Abbé was shunned for a small period by the media,[13] 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.
Positions on the Church hierarchy and the Vatican's policies
The Abbé's positions towards the
His support for the
International recognition
Abbé Pierre had the distinction of having been voted France's most popular person for many years, though in 2003 he was surpassed by
In 1998, he has been made
Global policy
He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a
Accidents and health problems
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 Léon-Etienne Duval, to help out the orphanage (or Kasbah).
All of these experiences together created the image of Abbé Pierre being a miraculé.
Death
Abbé Pierre remained active until his death on 22 January 2007 in the Val-de-Grâce military hospital in Paris, following a lung infection, aged 94.[32] He took a stance on most social struggles: supporting
After homage by dignitaries, several hundred ordinary Parisians (among them professor
Honours
- France:
- Order of the Legion of Honor (2004)[1]
- Order of the Legion of Honor (1992)[a]
- Order of the Legion of Honor(1987)
- Order of the Legion of Honor(1981)
- Recipient of the Médaille militaire
- Croix de guerre 1939–1945 with bronze palms
- Médaille de la Résistance
- Quebec:
- Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec
Awards
Bibliography
He has written many books and articles, including a book for children aged over ten, titled C'est quoi la mort?. Many of his publications are translated into English. All authors' rights (books, discs and videos) are versed to the Fondation Abbé Pierre concerning lodging and accommodations for those lacking these fundamental rights.
- 1987: Bernard Chevallier interroge l'abbé Pierre: Emmaüs ou venger l'homme, with Bernard Chevalier, éd. LGF/Livre de Poche, Paris. — ISBN 2-253-04151-3.
- 1988: Cent poèmes contre la misère, éd. Le Cherche-midi, Paris — ISBN 2-86274-141-8.
- 1993: Dieu et les hommes, with Bernard Kouchner, éd. Robert Laffont — ISBN 2-221-07618-4.
- 1994: Testament... — ISBN 2-227-47532-3.
- 1994: Une terre et des hommes, éd. Cerf, Paris.
- 1994: Absolu, éd. Seuil, Paris.
- 1996: Dieu merci, éd. Fayard/Centurion, Paris.
- 1996: Le bal des exclus, éd. Fayard, Paris.
- 1997: Mémoires d'un croyant, éd. Fayard, Paris.
- 1999: Fraternité, éd. Fayard, Paris.
- 1999: Paroles, éd. Actes Sud, Paris.
- 1999: C'est quoi la mort?,
- 1999: J'attendrai le plaisir du Bon Dieu: l'intégrale des entretiens d'Edmond Blattchen, éd. Alice, Paris.
- 2000: En route vers l'absolu, éd. Flammarion, Paris.
- 2001: La Planète des pauvres. Le tour du monde à vélo des communautés Emmaüs, de Louis Harenger, Louis Harenger, Michel Friedman, Emmaüs international, Abbé Pierre, éd. ISBN 2-290-30999-0.
- 2002: Confessions, éd. ISBN 2-226-13051-9.
- 2002: Je voulais être marin, missionnaire ou brigand, rédigé avec Denis Lefèvre, éd. Le Cherche-midi, Paris — ISBN 2-290-34221-1.
- 2004: L'Abbé Pierre, la construction d'une légende, by Philippe Falcone, éd. Golias — ISBN 2-914475-49-7.
- 2004: L'Abbé Pierre parle aux jeunes, with Pierre-Roland Saint-Dizier, éd. Du Signe, Paris — ISBN 2-7468-1257-6.
- 2005: Le sourire d'un ange, éd. Elytis, Paris.
- 2005: Mon Dieu... pourquoi? Petites méditations sur la foi chrétienne et le sens de la vie, with ISBN 2-259-20140-7.
- 2006: Servir : Paroles de vie, with Albine Navarino, éd. Presses du Châtelet, Paris — ISBN 2-84592-186-1.
Discography (interviews, etc.)
- 2001: Radioscopie: Abbé Pierre - Entretien avec Jacques Chancel, CD Audio - OCLC 416996272.
- 1988-2003: Éclats De Voix, suite de CD Audio, Poèmes et réflexions, en 4 volumes:
- 2005: Le CD Testament..., pour fêter le 56e anniversaire de la Foundation d'Emmaüs (réflexions personnelles, textes et paroles inspirées de la ISBN 2-227-47532-3.
- 2005: Avant de partir..., le testament audio de l'Abbé Pierre, CD audio et vidéos pour PC, prières et musiques de méditation - OCLC 319795796.
- 2006: L'Insurgé de l'amour, label Revues Bayard, Paris - OCLC 936964597.
- 2006: Paroles de Paix de l'Abbé Pierre, CD audio, label Fremeux - OCLC 419366250.
Filmography
- 1955: Les Chiffonniers d'Emmaüs from Robert Darène with Pierre Mondy.
- 1989: Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre from Denis Amar, with Lambert Wilson and Claudia Cardinale.
- 2023: Abbé Pierre – A Century of Devotion from Frédéric Tellier with Benjamin Lavernhe and Emmanuelle Bercot
See also
Notes
- ^ He was nominated in 1992 but he hadn't accepted to receive the award until 19 April 2001, in protest of French government refusing to grant vacant lodgings to homeless people.
References
- ^ JORF. 2004 (162): 12696. 14 July 2004. PREX0407464D. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ^ Le top 50 des personnalités[permanent dead link], 12/06, sondage IFOP pour Le Journal du Dimanche p.12 et suivantes
- ^ a b c L'insurgé de la bonté[permanent dead link], L'Humanité, 23 January 2007 (in French)
- ^ Fondation Abbé Pierre Archived January 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ «demandez à l'Esprit saint qu'il vous accorde l'anticléricalisme des saints», quote in Le diable et le bon dieu, Le Figaro, 26 January 2007 (in French)
- ^ Abbé Pierre, the conscience of France, dies at the age of 94 Archived 2007-09-18 at the Wayback Machine, The Scotsman, 23 January 2007 (in English)
- ^ a b Il aurait mérité dix fois d'être fait "Juste parmi les nations", testimony of Jean-Claude Duclos, curator of the Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de l'Isère, in Libération, 25 January 2007 (in French)
- ^ a b c d In Le Monde's obituary, in English: "ABBÉ PIERRE, FOUNDER OF EMMAÜS, IS DEAD" Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, 23 January 2007 (original article here Archived 2007-03-09 at the Wayback Machine) (in English and French)
- ^ "Mlle Lucie Coutaz". Centre Abbe Pierre Emmaus Esteville. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- ISBN 978-2-914119-88-7
- ^ l'Appel de l'Abbé Pierre (in French)
- ^ L'Abbé ne fait pas le moine, in Libération, 25 September 2002 (subscription required; see here Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine) (in French)
- ^ a b c d e Le diable et le Bon Dieu, Le Figaro, 26 January 2007 (in French)
- ^ CAMT. Répertoire papiers Abbé Pierre/Emmaus Archived May 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, on the website of the French Archives Nationales (National Archives) (in French)
- ^ a b «Quel giorno in Tribunale con lui Difese i terroristi rossi e l' Hyperion» Archived March 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Corriere della Sera, 23 January 2007 (in Italian)
- ^ Abbé Pierre, il frate ribelle che scelse gli emarginati Archived March 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Corriere della Sera, 23 January 2007 (in Italian)
- ^ D'inattendues amitiés brigadistes, Libération, 24 January 2007 (in French)
- ^ AFP news cable: "ROME, 23 January 2007 (AFP) - L'Abbé Pierre et les Brigades rouges italiennes: un épisode méconnu" (23 January 2007), published on La Croix's website here Archived 2007-01-26 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
- ^ a b Nation to honour French activist, BBC, 22 January 2007 (in English)
- ^ L’abbé Pierre exclu de la LICRA Archived June 21, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, L'Humanité, 2 May 1996 (in French)
- ^ L’abbé Pierre persiste et s’exclut de la LICRA Archived April 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, L'Humanité, 30 April 1996 (in French)
- Le Nouvel Observateur, 27 January 2007 (in French)
- Abbazia di Praglia
- ^ L’abbé Pierre: un prêtre gênant même après sa mort Archived January 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Marianne, 23 January 2007 (in French)
- ^ FRENCH CHAMPION OF HOMELESS DIES AGED 94 Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, by Delphine Strauss, Financial Times, 22 January 2007 AND English transl. of Le Monde obituary, "ABBÉ PIERRE, FOUNDER OF EMMAÜS, IS DEAD", 23 January 2007 (original article here Archived 2007-03-09 at the Wayback Machine (in English and French)
- ^ Sex confessions of 'living saint' shock France, The Guardian, 28 October 2005 (in English)
- ^ French champion of homeless dies aged 94, Financial Times, January 22, 2007
- ^ Le Top 50 des personnalités - Août 2005 Archived February 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Letters from Thane Read asking Helen Keller to sign the World Constitution for world peace. 1961". Helen Keller Archive. American Foundation for the Blind. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ "Letter from World Constitution Coordinating Committee to Helen, enclosing current materials". Helen Keller Archive. American Foundation for the Blind. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ^ "Preparing earth constitution | Global Strategies & Solutions | The Encyclopedia of World Problems". The Encyclopedia of World Problems | Union of International Associations (UIA). Retrieved 2023-07-15.
- ^ "Abbe Pierre, French campaigner for the poor, dies," Reuters news cable of Monday January 22, 2007 4:50am, ET31 - Temporarily available here Archived 2007-03-31 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
- ^ L'abbé Pierre, l'insurgé de Dieu, Le Figaro Magazine, January 26, 2007 (in French)
- ^ Le nom de l’Abbé Pierre réquisitionné par Borloo[permanent dead link], L'Humanité, 23 January 2007 (in French)
- ^ Des centaines de Parisiens venus saluer l'abbé Pierre, Le Figaro, January 24, 2007 (in French)
- ^ L'abbé Pierre inhumé dans l'intimité Archived 2007-01-28 at the Wayback Machine, Le Monde (with the Agence France-Presse, 25 January 2007 — actualized on January 26) (in French)
- ^ L'abbé Pierre, "une des plus belles figures évangéliques du siècle" Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, interview with Pierre Lunel, biographer of the Abbé Pierre, in La Croix, 26 January 2007 (in French)
External links
- Emmaus International, Abbé Pierre's sole legatee
- Fondation Abbé Pierre
- International Balzan Foundation
- Obituary in Le Monde (Paris), 23 January 2007 (English translation)
- 7 January 1954 call for homeless people, published in Le Figaro (22 January 2007)
- French review of press titles for his death
- An "Insight" episode which mentions Abbe Pierre, who was portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán