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{{short description|French Roman Catholic priest}}
{{short description|French Roman Catholic priest (1912–2007)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = The Rev.
| honorific_prefix = [[The Reverend]]
| name = Abbé Pierre
| name = Abbé Pierre
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|GOQ}}
| image = ABBE PIERRE-1999Without.jpg
| caption = Pierre in 1999
| image = ABBE PIERRE-1999Without.jpg
| birth_name = Henri Marie Joseph Grouès
| caption = Pierre in 1999
| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|8|5|df=y}}
| birth_name = Henri Marie Joseph Grouès
| birth_place = [[Lyon]], [[French Third Republic|France]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|8|5|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Lyon]], [[French Third Republic|France]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2007|1|22|1912|8|5}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2007|1|22|1912|8|5}}
| death_place = [[Paris]], [[France]]
| death_place = [[Paris]], France
| office = Member of the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]]<br />for [[Meurthe-et-Moselle]]; Founder of the [[Emmaus (charity)|Emmaus]] charity
| known_for = Founder of [[Emmaus (charity)|Emmaus]]
| term_start = 21 October 1945
| party = [[Popular Republican Movement|MRP]]
| term_end = 4 July 1951
| resting_place =
| module =
{{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes
| office = Member of the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]]<br>for [[Meurthe-et-Moselle]]
| term = 1 October 1945 – 4 July 1951
}}
}}
}}


'''Abbé Pierre''' (''[[Abbot]] Pierre''), {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|GOQ}} (born '''Henri Marie Joseph Grouès''';<ref name="jorf20040714"/> 5 August 1912{{spnd}}22 January 2007) was a French [[Catholic priest]], member of the [[Resistance (France)|Resistance]] during World War II, and deputy of the [[Popular Republican Movement]] (MRP).
'''Abbé Pierre''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|GOQ}} (born '''Henri Marie Joseph Grouès''';<ref name="jorf20040714"/> 5 August 1912{{spnd}}22 January 2007) was a French [[Catholic priest]]. He was a member of the [[Resistance (France)|Resistance]] during [[World War II]] and deputy of the [[Popular Republican Movement]]. In 1949, he founded the [[Emmaus (charity)|Emmaus]] movement, with the goal of helping poor and homeless people. For years, he was one of the most popular figures in France. Allegations of sexual abuse of at least two dozen women and children emerged in 2024.

In 1949, he founded the [[Emmaus (charity)|Emmaus]] movement, with the goal of helping poor and homeless people and refugees. He was for some time one of the most popular figures in France.<ref name="top50personnalites">''[http://www.ifop.com/europe/docs/toppersonnalit%E9s.pdf Le top 50 des personnalités]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}'', 12/06, sondage [[Institut français d'opinion publique|IFOP]] pour [[Le Journal du Dimanche]] p.12 et suivantes</ref>


== Youth and education ==
== 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 was born on 5 August 1912 in Lyon, France to a wealthy Catholic family of [[silk]] traders, the fifth of eight children. The writer and murderer [[Héra Mirtel]] was one of his aunts. 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.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}


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 [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin Order]], the principal offshoot of the [[Franciscans]], renouncing his inheritances and offering all his possessions to charities. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
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 [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin Order]], renouncing his inheritance and offering all his possessions to charity.{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


Known as ''frère Philippe'' (Brother Philippe), he entered the monastery of [[Crest, Drôme|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<ref name="NecroHuma"/> and then was nominated as [[curate]] of [[Grenoble]]'s cathedral in April 1939, only a few months before the [[invasion of Poland]].<ref>[http://www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr/abbe_pierre.html Fondation Abbé Pierre] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070123010946/http://www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr/abbe_pierre.html |date=January 23, 2007 }}</ref>
Known as ''frère Philippe'' (Brother Philippe), he entered the monastery of [[Crest, Drôme|Crest]] in 1932, where he lived for seven years and was ordained a priest on 24 August 1938. He had to leave in 1939 after developing severe lung infections, which made monastic life difficult to cope with. He became [[chaplain]] to the sick at several places<ref name="NecroHuma"/> and then was nominated as [[curate]] of [[Grenoble]]'s cathedral in April 1939, only a few months before the [[invasion of Poland]].<ref>[http://www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr/abbe_pierre.html Fondation Abbé Pierre] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070123010946/http://www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr/abbe_pierre.html |date=January 23, 2007 }}</ref>


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".<ref>«demandez à l'Esprit saint qu'il vous accorde l'anticléricalisme des saints», quote in [http://www.lefigaro.fr/magazine/20070126.WWW000000593_le_diable_et_le_bon_dieu.html ''Le diable et le bon dieu''], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 26 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
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".<ref>«demandez à l'Esprit saint qu'il vous accorde l'anticléricalisme des saints», quote in [http://www.lefigaro.fr/magazine/20070126.WWW000000593_le_diable_et_le_bon_dieu.html ''Le diable et le bon dieu''], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 26 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>


==World War II==
==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 Germany#Persecution of Jews|Nazi persecution]] following the July 1942 mass arrests in Paris, called the ''[[Vel' d'Hiv Roundup|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".
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 Germany#Persecution of Jews|Nazi persecution]] following the July 1942 mass arrests in Paris, called the ''[[Vel' d'Hiv Roundup|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".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=P. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tGvTQHR216gC&dq=%22false+passports.+Starting+in+August%22&pg=PA187 |title=Lives That Made a Difference |publisher=Strategic Book Publishing |isbn=978-1-62212-014-7 |publication-date=2012 |pages=187 |language=en}}</ref>


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.<ref>[http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=115372007 Abbé Pierre, the conscience of France, dies at the age of 94] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070918205712/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=115372007 |date=2007-09-18 }}, ''[[The Scotsman]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref> In 1942, he assisted [[Jacques de Gaulle]] (the brother of [[Charles de Gaulle]]) and his wife escape to Switzerland.<ref name="Duclos">[http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/societe/230198.FR.php 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 lang|fr}}</ref>
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.<ref>[http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=115372007 Abbé Pierre, the conscience of France, dies at the age of 94] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070918205712/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=115372007 |date=2007-09-18 }}, ''[[The Scotsman]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref> In 1942, he assisted [[Jacques de Gaulle]] (the brother of [[Charles de Gaulle]]) and his wife escape to Switzerland.<ref name="Duclos">[http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/societe/230198.FR.php 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 lang|fr}}</ref>
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He participated in establishing a section of the ''[[Maquis (World War II)|maquis]]'' where he officially became one of the local leaders in the [[Vercors Plateau]] and in the [[Chartreuse Mountains]]. He helped people to avoid being taken into the ''[[Service du travail obligatoire]]'' (STO), the Nazi forced-labour program agreed upon with [[Pierre Laval]], by creating in [[Grenoble]] the first refuge for resistants to the STO; he founded the clandestine newspaper ''L'Union patriotique indépendante''.<ref name="NecroHuma">[http://humanite.fr/journal/2007-01-23/2007-01-23-844445 L'insurgé de la bonté]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="LeMondeobit">In ''Le Monde''{{'}}s obituary, in English: [http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ "ABBÉ PIERRE, FOUNDER OF EMMAÜS, IS DEAD"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930160157/http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ |date=September 30, 2007 }}, 23 January 2007 ([http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html original article here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309051526/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html |date=2007-03-09 }}) {{in lang|en|fr}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://centreabbepierreemmausesteville.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/mlle-lucie-coutaz/|title=Mlle Lucie Coutaz|website=Centre Abbe Pierre Emmaus Esteville|date=13 January 2011 |access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref>
He participated in establishing a section of the ''[[Maquis (World War II)|maquis]]'' where he officially became one of the local leaders in the [[Vercors Plateau]] and in the [[Chartreuse Mountains]]. He helped people to avoid being taken into the ''[[Service du travail obligatoire]]'' (STO), the Nazi forced-labour program agreed upon with [[Pierre Laval]], by creating in [[Grenoble]] the first refuge for resistants to the STO; he founded the clandestine newspaper ''L'Union patriotique indépendante''.<ref name="NecroHuma">[http://humanite.fr/journal/2007-01-23/2007-01-23-844445 L'insurgé de la bonté]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="LeMondeobit">In ''Le Monde''{{'}}s obituary, in English: [http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ "ABBÉ PIERRE, FOUNDER OF EMMAÜS, IS DEAD"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930160157/http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ |date=September 30, 2007 }}, 23 January 2007 ([http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html original article here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309051526/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html |date=2007-03-09 }}) {{in lang|en|fr}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://centreabbepierreemmausesteville.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/mlle-lucie-coutaz/|title=Mlle Lucie Coutaz|website=Centre Abbe Pierre Emmaus Esteville|date=13 January 2011 |access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref>


He was arrested twice, once in 1944 by the Nazi police in the city of [[Cambo-les-Bains]] in the [[Pyrénées-Atlantiques]], but was quickly released and travelled to Spain then [[Gibraltar]] before joining the [[Free French Forces]] of General de Gaulle in [[Algeria]].<ref name="LeMondeobit"/> In the Free North Africa, he became a [[chaplain]] in the [[French Navy]] on the battleship ''[[French battleship Jean Bart (1940)|Jean Bart]]'' in [[Casablanca]]. He had become an important character and symbol of the French Resistance.
He was arrested twice, once in 1944 by the Nazi police in the town of [[Cambo-les-Bains]] in the [[Pyrénées-Atlantiques]], but was quickly released and travelled to Spain then [[Gibraltar]] before joining the [[Free French Forces]] of General de Gaulle in [[Algeria]].<ref name="LeMondeobit"/> In the Free North Africa, he became a [[chaplain]] in the [[French Navy]] on the battleship ''[[French battleship Jean Bart (1940)|Jean Bart]]'' in [[Casablanca]]. He had become an important symbol of the French Resistance.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}


At the end of the war, he was awarded the [[Croix de guerre 1939–1945|''Croix de guerre 1939-1945'']] with bronze palms and the ''[[Médaille de la Résistance]]''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
At the end of the war, he was awarded the [[Croix de guerre 1939–1945|''Croix de guerre 1939-1945'']] with bronze palms and the ''[[Médaille de la Résistance]]''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


==Political career (1945–51) and the 1960s/70s==
==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 [[National Assembly (France)|deputy]] for [[Meurthe-et-Moselle|Meurthe-et-Moselle department]] in both [[French Fourth Republic#Founding of the Fourth Republic (1944–1954)|National Constituent Assemblies]] in 1945–1946 as an independent close to the [[Popular Republican Movement]] (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/Institute for Global Policy|World Federalist Movement]] in 1947, a universal federalist movement.
When the war was over, following de Gaulle's entourage's advice and the approbation of the [[archbishop of Paris]], Abbé Pierre was elected [[National Assembly (France)|deputy]] for [[Meurthe-et-Moselle|Meurthe-et-Moselle department]] in both [[French Fourth Republic#Founding of the Fourth Republic (1944–1954)|National Constituent Assemblies]] in 1945–1946 as an independent close to the [[Popular Republican Movement]] (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/Institute for Global Policy|World Federalist Movement]] in 1947, a universal federalist movement.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}


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'm leaving the MRP"), where he denounced the political and social attitude of the MRP party. He then joined the [[Christian socialist]] movement named ''[[Ligue de la jeune République]]'', created in 1912 by [[Marc Sangnier]], 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).
After a bloody accident resulting in the death of a blue-collar worker, Édouard Mazé, in Brest in 1950, Henri Antoine Grouès decided to put an end to his MRP affiliation on 28 April 1950, writing a letter titled ''"Pourquoi je quitte le MRP"'' ("Why I'm leaving the MRP"), where he denounced the political and social attitude of the MRP party. He then joined the [[Christian socialist]] movement named ''[[Ligue de la jeune République]]'', created in 1912 by [[Marc Sangnier]], but decided to finally end his political career. In 1951, before the end of his mandate, he returned to his first vocation: helping the homeless. With the modest funds he had received as a deputy, he invested in a run-down house near Paris in the [[Neuilly-Plaisance]] neighbourhood, repairing the whole house. He made it the first Emmaus base (because, according to him, it was simply too big for one person).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}


Although Grouès put a definitive end to his involvement in [[representative democracy|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]] 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 Restrepo|Camilo Torres]] (1929–1966), a predecessor of [[Liberation theology]], who asked for his advice on the Colombian Church's criticism of "workers' priests." He was also received by US president [[Dwight David Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] and [[Mohammed V of Morocco]] in 1955 and 1956. In 1962 he resided for several months in [[Charles de Foucauld]]'s retreat in [[Béni-Abbés]] (Algeria). {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
Although the priest had left [[representative democracy|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]] 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 Restrepo|Camilo Torres]] (1929–1966), a predecessor of [[Liberation theology]], who asked for his advice on the Colombian Church's criticism of "workers' priests". He was also received by US president [[Dwight David Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] and [[Mohammed V of Morocco]] in 1955 and 1956. In 1962, he resided for several months in [[Charles de Foucauld]]'s retreat in [[Béni-Abbés]] (Algeria). {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


The Abbé was then called to India in 1971 by [[Jayaprakash Narayan]] to represent, along with the ''[[Ligue des droits de l'homme]]'' (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]]. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
Abbé Pierre was then called to India in 1971 by [[Jayaprakash Narayan]] to represent, along with the ''[[Ligue des droits de l'homme]]'' (Human Rights League) France in the issues of refugees. [[Indira Gandhi]] then invited him to deal with the question of Bengali refugees, and Grouès founded Emmaus communities in [[Bangladesh]]. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


==Emmaus==
==Emmaus==


=== 1949: the origin ===
=== 1949: the origin ===
[[Emmaus (charity)|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."<ref>Albine Novarino. (2007) ''L'abbé Pierre: Citations'' (French) Paris: Huitième Jour Editions. {{ISBN|978-2-914119-88-7}}</ref>
[[Emmaus (charity)|Emmaus]] (''Emmaüs'' in French) was started in 1949. Its name is a reference to a village in Palestine 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".<ref>Albine Novarino. (2007) ''L'abbé Pierre: Citations'' (French) Paris: Huitième Jour Editions. {{ISBN|978-2-914119-88-7}}</ref>


There were initial difficulties raising funds, so in 1952, Abbé Pierre decided to be a contestant on the [[Radio Luxembourg (French)|Radio Luxembourg]] game show ''Quitte ou double'' (''Double or Nothing'') for the prize money; he ended up winning 256,000 [[French franc|francs]]. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
There were initial difficulties raising funds, so in 1952, Abbé Pierre decided to be a contestant on the [[Radio Luxembourg (French)|Radio Luxembourg]] game show ''Quitte ou double'' (''Double or Nothing'') for the prize money; he ended up winning 256,000 [[French franc|francs]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


===Winter 1954: "Uprising of kindness"===
===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 (French)|Radio Luxembourg]] on 1 February 1954, and asked ''[[Le Figaro]]'', a conservative newspaper, to publish his call:
Grouès 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 (French)|Radio Luxembourg]] on 1 February 1954, and asked ''[[Le Figaro]]'', a conservative newspaper, to publish his call, in which he stated soberly that "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". He went on to describe the drama of homeless life, claiming that in "every town in France, in every quarter of Paris" ministry was needed based on "these simple words: 'If you suffer, whoever you are, enter, eat, sleep, recover hope, here you are loved'".<ref>[http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Appel_de_l%27Abb%C3%A9_Pierre l'Appel de l'Abbé Pierre] {{in lang|fr}}</ref>


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<ref name="LeMondeobit"/>). 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 ''[[bourgeoisie|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, Grouès had to organise his movement by creating the ''Emmaus communities'' on 23 March 1954. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
{{quote|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, Paris|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.<ref>[http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Appel_de_l%27Abb%C3%A9_Pierre l'Appel de l'Abbé Pierre] {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

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<ref name="LeMondeobit"/>). 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 ''[[bourgeoisie|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|date=August 2013}}
[[File:Abbé Pierre (1955).jpg|thumb|Abbé Pierre (1955)]]
[[File:Abbé Pierre (1955).jpg|thumb|Abbé Pierre (1955)]]
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 gave [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]] an English translation of the book in the oval office. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
A book was written by Boris Simon called ''Abbé Pierre and the ragpickers of Emmaus''. It spread knowledge about the Emmaus community. In 1955, the priest gave [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]] an English translation of the book in the oval office. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} The Emmaus communities quickly spread worldwide. Grouès traveled to [[Beyrouth]] (Beirut, Lebanon) in 1959, to assist in the creation of the first multiconfessional Emmaus group there; it was founded by a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni (Muslim)]], a [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkite (Catholic)]] archbishop and a [[Maronite Church|Maronite (Christian)]] writer. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}

The Emmaus communities quickly spread worldwide. The Abbé traveled to [[Beyrouth]] (Beirut, Lebanon) in 1959, to assist in the creation of the first multiconfessional Emmaus group there; it was founded by a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni (Muslim)]], a [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkite (Catholic)]] archbishop and a [[Maronite Church|Maronite (Christian)]] writer. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


==1980s to 2000s==
==1980s to 2000s==
After the [[1981 French presidential election|1981 election]] of President [[François Mitterrand]] ([[French Socialist Party|Socialist Party]], PS) (during which he called for [[blank vote]]<ref>[http://www.liberation.fr/transversales/portraits/117684.FR.php L'Abbé ne fait pas le moine], in ''[[Libération]]'', 25 September 2002 (subscription required; see [http://www.denistouret.net/textes/abbe_Pierre.html here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202002621/http://www.denistouret.net/textes/abbe_Pierre.html |date=2007-02-02 }}) {{in lang|fr}}</ref>), the Abbé Pierre supported the initiative of the French Premier [[Laurent Fabius]] (PS) to create in 1984 the ''[[Revenu minimum d'insertion]]'' (RMI), a welfare system for indigents.<ref name="DBD">[http://www.lefigaro.fr/magazine/20070126.WWW000000593_le_diable_et_le_bon_dieu.html Le diable et le Bon Dieu], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 26 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
After the [[1981 French presidential election|1981 election]] of President [[François Mitterrand]] ([[French Socialist Party|Socialist Party]], PS), during which Abbé Pierre called for voters to [[Blank vote|vote in blank]]<ref>{{cite news| last=le Vaillant | first=Luc | title=L'abbé ne fait pas le moine | publisher=[[Libération]] | date=24 September 2002 | url=https://www.liberation.fr/portrait/2002/09/25/l-abbe-ne-fait-pas-le-moine_416436/ | language=fr }}</ref>), he supported the initiative of the French Premier [[Laurent Fabius]] (PS) to create in 1984 the ''[[Revenu minimum d'insertion]]'' (RMI), a welfare system for indigent people.<ref name="DBD">[http://www.lefigaro.fr/magazine/20070126.WWW000000593_le_diable_et_le_bon_dieu.html Le diable et le Bon Dieu], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', 26 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
The same year, he organized the operation "Charity Christmas", which, relayed by ''[[France Soir]]'', raised 6 million [[French franc|francs]] and 200 tons of products. The actor [[Coluche]], who had organized the charitable ''[[Restos du Cœur]]'', offered him 150 million French cents received by his organisation.<ref name="DBD"/> Coluche's huge success with the Restos du Cœur, caused by his popularity (Coluche had even tried to nominate himself as a candidate in the [[1981 French presidential election|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. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}

The same year, he organized the operation "Charity Christmas", which, relayed by ''[[France Soir]]'', brought 6 million Francs and 200 tons of products. The actor [[Coluche]], who had organized the charitable ''[[Restos du Cœur]]'', offered him 150 million French cents received by his organisation.<ref name="DBD"/> Coluche's huge success with the Restos du Cœur, caused by his popularity (Coluche had even tried to present himself to the [[1981 French presidential election|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. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


In 1983, he spoke with Italian President [[Sandro Pertini]] to plead the cause of Vanni Mulinaris, imprisoned on charge of assistance to the [[Red Brigades]] (BR), and even observed eight days of [[hunger strike]] from 26 May to 3 June 1984 in the [[Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (Turin)|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.<ref>[http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/camt/fr/inventaires2000/2000050-2.html CAMT. Répertoire papiers Abbé Pierre/Emmaus] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513143152/http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/camt/fr/inventaires2000/2000050-2.html |date=May 13, 2008 }}, on the website of the French ''[[Archives Nationales (France)|Archives Nationales]]'' (National Archives) {{in lang|fr}}</ref> 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.<ref name="archivio.corriere.it">[http://archivio.corriere.it/archiveDocumentServlet.jsp?url=/documenti_globnet/corsera/2007/01/co_9_070123007.xml «Quel giorno in Tribunale con lui Difese i terroristi rossi e l' Hyperion»] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319074210/http://archivio.corriere.it/archiveDocumentServlet.jsp?url=%2Fdocumenti_globnet%2Fcorsera%2F2007%2F01%2Fco_9_070123007.xml |date=March 19, 2007 }}, ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|it}}</ref> According to the ''Corriere della Sera'', it would even have been him who convinced then president François Mitterrand to grant protection from [[Mitterrand doctrine|extradition to left-wing]] Italian activists who took refuge in France and had broken with their past.<ref>[http://archivio.corriere.it/archiveDocumentServlet.jsp?url=/documenti_globnet/corsera/2007/01/co_9_070123006.xml Abbé Pierre, il frate ribelle che scelse gli emarginati] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319074219/http://archivio.corriere.it/archiveDocumentServlet.jsp?url=%2Fdocumenti_globnet%2Fcorsera%2F2007%2F01%2Fco_9_070123006.xml |date=March 19, 2007 }}, ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|it}}</ref>
In 1983, he spoke with Italian President [[Sandro Pertini]] to plead the cause of Vanni Mulinaris, imprisoned on charge of assistance to the [[Red Brigades]] (BR), and even observed eight days of [[hunger strike]] from 26 May to 3 June 1984 in the [[Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (Turin)|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.<ref>[http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/camt/fr/inventaires2000/2000050-2.html CAMT. Répertoire papiers Abbé Pierre/Emmaus] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513143152/http://www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr/camt/fr/inventaires2000/2000050-2.html |date=May 13, 2008 }}, on the website of the French ''[[Archives Nationales (France)|Archives Nationales]]'' (National Archives) {{in lang|fr}}</ref> 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.<ref name="archivio.corriere.it">[http://archivio.corriere.it/archiveDocumentServlet.jsp?url=/documenti_globnet/corsera/2007/01/co_9_070123007.xml «Quel giorno in Tribunale con lui Difese i terroristi rossi e l' Hyperion»] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319074210/http://archivio.corriere.it/archiveDocumentServlet.jsp?url=%2Fdocumenti_globnet%2Fcorsera%2F2007%2F01%2Fco_9_070123007.xml |date=March 19, 2007 }}, ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|it}}</ref> According to the ''Corriere della Sera'', it would even have been him who convinced then president François Mitterrand to grant protection from [[Mitterrand doctrine|extradition to left-wing]] Italian activists who took refuge in France and had broken with their past.<ref>[http://archivio.corriere.it/archiveDocumentServlet.jsp?url=/documenti_globnet/corsera/2007/01/co_9_070123006.xml Abbé Pierre, il frate ribelle che scelse gli emarginati] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319074219/http://archivio.corriere.it/archiveDocumentServlet.jsp?url=%2Fdocumenti_globnet%2Fcorsera%2F2007%2F01%2Fco_9_070123006.xml |date=March 19, 2007 }}, ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|it}}</ref>


More than 20 years later, the [[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata|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 (Italy)|years of lead]]", and then joined the Emmaus companions.<ref>[http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/politiques/230519.FR.php D'inattendues amitiés brigadistes], ''[[Libération]]'', 24 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> ''[[La Repubblica]]'' specified that Italian justice has recognized the innocence of all people close to the Hyperion School<ref>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 (newspaper)|La Croix]]''{{'}}s website [http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/070123152331.3hduui9h.htm here] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126093637/http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/070123152331.3hduui9h.htm |date=2007-01-26 }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
More than 20 years later, the [[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata|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 (Italy)|years of lead]]", and then joined the Emmaus companions.<ref>[http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/politiques/230519.FR.php D'inattendues amitiés brigadistes], ''[[Libération]]'', 24 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> ''[[La Repubblica]]'' specified that Italian justice has recognized the innocence of all people close to the Hyperion School.<ref>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 (newspaper)|La Croix]]''{{'}}s website [http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/070123152331.3hduui9h.htm here] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126093637/http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/070123152331.3hduui9h.htm |date=2007-01-26 }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>


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.<ref name="archivio.corriere.it"/>
Following Grouès' 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.<ref name="archivio.corriere.it"/>


In 1988 Abbé Pierre met representatives of the [[International Monetary Fund]] (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 in South Africa|apartheid regime in South Africa]]. In 1995, after a three-year-long [[siege of Sarajevo]], he went there to exhort nations of the world to put an end to the violence, and requested French military operation against the [[Serb]] positions in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]]. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}
In 1988, Abbé Pierre met representatives of the [[International Monetary Fund]] (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 in South Africa|apartheid regime in South Africa]]. In 1995, after a three-year-long [[siege of Sarajevo]], he went there to exhort nations of the world to put an end to the violence, and requested French military operation against the [[Serb]] positions in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2013}}


During the [[Gulf War]] (1990–91), the Abbé directly addressed himself to US President [[George H. W. Bush]] and Iraq President [[Saddam Hussein]]. 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 [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UN High Commissioner for Refugees]] (HCR). He encountered this year the [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] during inter-religious peace encounters. A staunch supporter of the [[Palestinian people|Palestinian cause]], he has attracted attention with some of his statements on the [[Israeli-Palestine conflict]]<ref name="BBC">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6288409.stm Nation to honour French activist], ''[[BBC]]'', 22 January 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref>
During the [[Gulf War]] (1990–91), Abbé Pierre directly addressed himself to US President [[George H. W. Bush]] and Iraq President [[Saddam Hussein]]. 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 [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UN High Commissioner for Refugees]] (HCR). He encountered this year the [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] during inter-religious peace encounters. A staunch supporter of the [[Palestinian people|Palestinian cause]], he has attracted attention with some of his statements on the [[Israeli-Palestine conflict]].<ref name="BBC">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6288409.stm Nation to honour French activist], ''[[BBC]]'', 22 January 2007 {{in lang|en}}</ref>


His support "à titre amical" ("in title of friendship") for [[Roger Garaudy]] in 1996 brought controversy. The "Garaudy Affair" had been revealed in January 1996 by the ''[[Le Canard enchaîné|Canard enchaîné]]'' satirical newspaper, which prompted a series of denunciations against his book, "The Foundational Myths of Israeli Politics," and led Garaudy to be charged of [[historical revisionism (negationism)|negationism]] (before being convicted in 1998, under the 1990 [[Gayssot Act]]). 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|LICRA]] (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 ([[MRAP (French NGO)|MRAP]], [[Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France|CRIF]], [[Anti-Defamation League]], etc.) and the Church hierarchy.<ref>[http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/1996-05-02/1996-05-02-751113 L’abbé Pierre exclu de la LICRA] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050621122300/http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/1996-05-02/1996-05-02-751113 |date=June 21, 2005 }}, ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 2 May 1996 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> His friend [[Bernard Kouchner]], co-founder of [[Médecins Sans Frontières]] (MSF), criticized him for "absolving the intolerable,<ref>[http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/1996-04-30/1996-04-30-751021 L’abbé Pierre persiste et s’exclut de la LICRA] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419182343/http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/1996-04-30/1996-04-30-751021 |date=April 19, 2006 }}, ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 30 April 1996 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>" while Cardinal [[Jean-Marie Lustiger]] (and archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005) publicly disavowed him.<ref>[http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualites/societe/20070122.OBS8073 L'ami du révisionniste Garaudy], ''[[Le Nouvel Observateur]]'', 27 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> The Abbé then went into retreat in the [[Benedictine]] monastery of [[Praglia Abbey|Praglia]] near [[Padua, Italy]].<ref>See [[Abbazia di Praglia]]</ref> 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 statements in his book, which he had not read.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
His support "à titre amical" ("in title of friendship") for [[Roger Garaudy]] in 1996 brought controversy. The "Garaudy Affair" had been revealed in January 1996 by the ''[[Le Canard enchaîné|Canard enchaîné]]'' satirical newspaper, which prompted a series of denunciations against his book, "The Foundational Myths of Israeli Politics", and led Garaudy to be charged of [[historical revisionism (negationism)|negationism]] (before being convicted in 1998, under the 1990 [[Gayssot Act]]). 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|LICRA]] (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 ([[MRAP (French NGO)|MRAP]], [[Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France|CRIF]], [[Anti-Defamation League]], etc.) and the Church hierarchy.<ref>[http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/1996-05-02/1996-05-02-751113 L’abbé Pierre exclu de la LICRA] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050621122300/http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/1996-05-02/1996-05-02-751113 |date=June 21, 2005 }}, ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 2 May 1996 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> His friend [[Bernard Kouchner]], co-founder of [[Médecins Sans Frontières]] (MSF), criticized him for "absolving the intolerable,<ref>[http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/1996-04-30/1996-04-30-751021 L’abbé Pierre persiste et s’exclut de la LICRA] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419182343/http://www.humanite.presse.fr/journal/1996-04-30/1996-04-30-751021 |date=April 19, 2006 }}, ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 30 April 1996 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>" while Cardinal [[Jean-Marie Lustiger]] (and archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005) publicly disavowed him.<ref>[http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/actualites/societe/20070122.OBS8073 L'ami du révisionniste Garaudy], ''[[Le Nouvel Observateur]]'', 27 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> The Abbé then went into retreat in the [[Benedictine]] monastery of [[Praglia Abbey|Praglia]] near [[Padua, Italy]].<ref>See [[Abbazia di Praglia]]</ref> 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 statements in his book, which he had not read.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}


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 France|Vichy]].<ref name="Duclos"/>
The curator of the Deportation and Resistance Museum of the [[Isère]] department where Grouès carried out most of his resistance activities declared that Abbé Pierre would have merited ten times to be named [[Righteous Among the Nations]] for his struggle in favor of Jews during [[Vichy France|Vichy]].<ref name="Duclos"/>


Following this 1996 controversial support to a personal acquaintance, the Abbé was shunned for a period by the media,<ref name="DBD"/> although the Abbé remained a popular figure.
Following this 1996 controversial support to a personal acquaintance, the Abbé was shunned for a period by the media,<ref name="DBD"/> although Grouès remained a popular figure.


==Positions on the Church hierarchy and the Vatican's policies==
==Positions on the Church hierarchy and the Vatican's policies==
The Abbé's positions towards the [[Roman Catholic Church|Church]] and the [[Holy See|Vatican]] also brought controversy. His positions on social issues and engagements were at times explicitly socialist and opposed to the Church. {{Clarify|date=August 2013}} He maintained a relationship with the progressive French Catholic [[Jacques Gaillot|Bishop Jacques Gaillot]], to which he recalled his duty of "instinct of a measured insolence",<ref name="DBD"/> He didn't like [[Saint Teresa of Calcutta|Mother Teresa]]. 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. ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'', 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 [[Pope Benedict XVI]] 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, [[Roger Etchegaray]] and [[Paul Poupard]]. His criticisms of what he considered the lavish lifestyle of the Vatican got him a lot of publicity (especially when he reproached [[John Paul II]] for his expensive travels), but were not well received by the public. [[Cardinal Secretary of State]] [[Tarcisio Bertone]] lauded his "action in favor of poor":<ref>[http://www.marianne-en-ligne.fr/e-docs/00/00/D1/61/document_une.phtml L’abbé Pierre: un prêtre gênant même après sa mort] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126101653/http://www.marianne-en-ligne.fr/e-docs/00/00/D1/61/document_une.phtml |date=January 26, 2007 }}, ''[[Marianne (magazine)|Marianne]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> "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."{{citation needed|date=February 2007}}
The Abbé's positions towards the [[Roman Catholic Church|Church]] and the [[Holy See|Vatican]] also brought controversy. His positions on social issues and engagements were at times explicitly socialist and opposed to the Church. {{Clarify|date=August 2013}} He maintained a relationship with the progressive French Catholic [[Jacques Gaillot|Bishop Jacques Gaillot]], to which he recalled his duty of "instinct of a measured insolence".<ref name="DBD"/> He did not like [[Saint Teresa of Calcutta|Mother Teresa]]; 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. ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'', 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 [[Pope Benedict XVI]] 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, [[Roger Etchegaray]] and [[Paul Poupard]]. His criticisms of what he considered the lavish lifestyle of the Vatican got him a lot of publicity (especially when he reproached [[John Paul II]] for his expensive travels), but were not well received by the public. [[Cardinal Secretary of State]] [[Tarcisio Bertone]] lauded his "action in favor of poor":<ref>[http://www.marianne-en-ligne.fr/e-docs/00/00/D1/61/document_une.phtml L’abbé Pierre: un prêtre gênant même après sa mort] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126101653/http://www.marianne-en-ligne.fr/e-docs/00/00/D1/61/document_une.phtml |date=January 26, 2007 }}, ''[[Marianne (magazine)|Marianne]]'', 23 January 2007 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> "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".{{citation needed|date=February 2007}}


His support for the [[ordination of women]]<ref>[http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ FRENCH CHAMPION OF HOMELESS DIES AGED 94] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930160157/http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ |date=September 30, 2007 }}, 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 ([http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html original article here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309051526/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html |date=2007-03-09 }} {{in lang|en|fr}}</ref> and for [[clerical marriage|married clergy]] put him at odds with Catholic tradition, Church leaders and a substantial portion of French Catholics that followed the traditional teaching of the Church. The same stances, according to [[BBC|British state media]], made him popular among the declining number of left-wing Catholics in France.<ref name="BBC"/> In his book ''Mon Dieu... pourquoi?'' (God... Why?, 2005), co-written with [[Frédéric Lenoir]], he admitted to breaking his solemn promise of [[clerical celibacy|celibacy]] by having had casual sex with women.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/france/story/0,,1602564,00.html Sex confessions of 'living saint' shock France], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 28 October 2005 {{in lang|en}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2cc534fe-aa35-11db-83b0-0000779e2340.html French champion of homeless dies aged 94], ''[[Financial Times]]'', January 22, 2007</ref> 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 [[contraceptives]].<ref name="DBD"/>
His support for the [[ordination of women]]<ref>[http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ FRENCH CHAMPION OF HOMELESS DIES AGED 94] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930160157/http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ |date=September 30, 2007 }}, 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 ([http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html original article here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309051526/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html |date=2007-03-09 }} {{in lang|en|fr}}</ref> and for [[clerical marriage|married clergy]] put him at odds with Catholic tradition, Church leaders and a substantial portion of French Catholics that followed the traditional teaching of the Church. The same stances, according to [[BBC|British state media]], made him popular among the declining number of left-wing Catholics in France.<ref name="BBC"/> In his book ''Mon Dieu… pourquoi?'' (God… Why?, 2005), co-written with [[Frédéric Lenoir]], he admitted to breaking his solemn promise of [[clerical celibacy|celibacy]] by having had casual sex with women.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/france/story/0,,1602564,00.html Sex confessions of 'living saint' shock France], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 28 October 2005 {{in lang|en}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2cc534fe-aa35-11db-83b0-0000779e2340.html French champion of homeless dies aged 94], ''[[Financial Times]]'', January 22, 2007</ref> 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 [[contraceptives]].<ref name="DBD"/>


== Global policy ==
== Global policy ==
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===International recognition===
===International recognition===
Abbé Pierre had the distinction of having been voted France's most popular person for many years, though he was surpassed in 2003 by [[Zinedine Zidane]], moving to second place.<ref>[http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/OPINIONF/top50persoaout2005.asp Le Top 50 des personnalités - Août 2005<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202040614/http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/OPINIONF/top50persoaout2005.asp |date=February 2, 2007 }}</ref> In 2005 Abbé Pierre came third in a television poll to choose ''[[Le Plus Grand Français]]'' (The Greatest Frenchman).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
Abbé Pierre had the distinction of having been voted France's most popular person for many years, though he was surpassed in 2003 by [[Zinedine Zidane]], moving to second place.<ref>[http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/OPINIONF/top50persoaout2005.asp Le Top 50 des personnalités - Août 2005<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202040614/http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/OPINIONF/top50persoaout2005.asp |date=February 2, 2007 }}</ref> In 2005, Abbé Pierre came third in a television poll to choose ''[[Le Plus Grand Français]]'' (The Greatest Frenchman).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}


In 1998, he has been made [[National Order of Quebec|Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec]] while in 2004, he was awarded the [[Légion d'honneur#Classes and insignia|Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor]] by [[Jacques Chirac]]. He also received the [[Balzan Prize]] 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."<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 15, 2008 |title=A Man of Humanity: Abbé Pierre (1912-2007) |url=https://divainternational.ch/a-man-of-humanity-abb-pierre-1912-2007.html}}</ref>
In 1998, he has been made [[National Order of Quebec|Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec]] while in 2004, he was awarded the [[Légion d'honneur#Classes and insignia|Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor]] by [[Jacques Chirac]]. He also received the [[Balzan Prize]] 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".<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 15, 2008 |title=A Man of Humanity: Abbé Pierre (1912-2007) |url=https://divainternational.ch/a-man-of-humanity-abb-pierre-1912-2007.html}}</ref>


===Accidents and health problems===
===Accidents and health problems===

He was regularly sick, particularly in the lungs when he was young. He was left unscathed in several dangerous situations:
{{Unreferenced|section|date=September 2024}}
* In 1950, while on a flight in India, he survived when his plane had to make an emergency landing due to engine failure.
He was often sick, particularly in the lungs when he was young. He was left unscathed in several dangerous situations:
* In 1963, his boat shipwrecked in the [[Río de la Plata]], 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, [[Léon-Etienne Duval]], to help out the orphanage (or Kasbah).{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
* In 1950, while on a flight in India, his plane had to make an emergency landing due to engine failure.
* In 1963, his ship was shipwrecked in the [[Río de la Plata]], between Argentina and Uruguay. He survived by clinging to a wooden part of the ship, while around him 80 passengers died. On a later trip to Algiers he showed the pocket knife which had enabled him to survive this ordeal.


===Sexual abuse===
===Sexual abuse===
{{Main article|Abbé Pierre sexual abuse scandal}}
In July 2024, the Fondation Abbé Pierre and Emmaus issued a statement about the results of an investigation they had commissioned after reports of abuse by Pierre had come to light. An independent research group reported that seven women (one of them a minor at the time of abuse) gave testimony about abuse they suffered at the hands of the French priest between the late 1970s and 2005.<ref>{{cite news| agency=AFP| title=L'abbé Pierre est accusé de violences sexuelles par plusieurs femmes, annoncent Emmaüs et la Fondation Abbé-Pierre|trans-title=Abbé Pierre is accused of sexual violence by several women, announce Emmaus and the Fondation Abbé Pierre| publisher=[[France Info]] | date=17 July 2024 | url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/harcelement-sexuel/l-abbe-pierre-est-accuse-de-violences-sexuelles-par-plusieurs-femmes-annoncent-emmaus-et-la-fondation-abbe-pierre_6671463.html | language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Plummer |first=Robert |date=July 18, 2024 |title=French priest accused of sexual assaults 17 years after death |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7955vg9w8o |website=BBC}}</ref>


In September 2024, a report commissioned by the Fondation reported that Abbé Pierre sexually harassed or assaulted at least two dozen women.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Breeden |first=Aurelien |date=2024-09-14 |title=Sexual Abuse Allegations Shatter a Crusading Priest's Legacy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/14/world/europe/abbe-pierre-sexual-abuse-france.html?smid=url-share |access-date=2024-09-17 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> An 8-9 year child was also allegedly abused.<ref name=":0" /> The abuse happened in France and in the United States. The second report led the Abbé Pierre Foundation being retitled, and [[Emmaus (charity)|Emmaus France]] voting on removing the priest's name from its logo. The Abbé Pierre Centre in Esteville in Normandy, where he lived for many years and is buried, was to close, and the disposal of hundreds of statuettes, busts and other images of the charity's creator was discussed. There was evidence that colleagues in Emmaus and the Catholic Church knew about Abbé Pierre's sexual behaviour, but did not speak out.<ref>{{cite news| last=Schofield | first=Hugh | title=New abuse allegations emerge against venerated Abbé Pierre | publisher=BBC News | date=9 September 2024 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9d1z4lpqpno}}</ref>
In July 2024, the Fondation Abbé Pierre and Emmaus issued a statement about the results of an investigation they had commissioned after reports of abuse by Pierre had come to light. An independe research group reported that seven women (one of them a minor at the time of abuse) gave testimony about abuse they suffered at the hands of the French priest between the late 1970s and 2005.<ref>[https://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/harcelement-sexuel/l-abbe-pierre-est-accuse-de-violences-sexuelles-par-plusieurs-femmes-annoncent-emmaus-et-la-fondation-abbe-pierre_6671463.html], ''[[France Info]]'', 17 July 2024 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Plummer |first=Robert |date=July 18, 2024 |title=French priest accused of sexual assaults 17 years after death |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7955vg9w8o |website=BBC}}</ref>


== Death ==
== Death ==
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==Honours==
==Honours==

*{{flag|France}}:
*{{flag|France}}:
**[[File:Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg|70px]] Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Legion of Honor]] (2004)<ref name="jorf20040714">{{Cite journal|journal=[[Journal Officiel de la République Française|JORF]]|volume=2004|issue=162|title=Décret du 13 juillet 2004 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier|date=14 July 2004|page=12696|id=PREX0407464D|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=PREX0407464D|access-date=9 April 2009}}
**[[File:Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg|70px]] Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Legion of Honor]] (2004)<ref name="jorf20040714">{{Cite journal|journal=[[Journal Officiel de la République Française|JORF]]|volume=2004|issue=162|title=Décret du 13 juillet 2004 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier|date=14 July 2004|page=12696|id=PREX0407464D|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=PREX0407464D|access-date=9 April 2009}}
</ref>
</ref>
**[[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|70px]] Grand Officer of the [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Legion of Honor]] (1992){{efn|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.}}
**[[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|70px]] Grand Officer of the [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Legion of Honor]] (1992){{efn|He was nominated in 1992 but accepted it only in 2001, the delay being a protest of the French government's refusal to give vacant lodgings to homeless people.}}
**[[File:Legion Honneur Commandeur ribbon.svg|70px]] Commander of the [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Legion of Honor]] (1987)
**[[File:Legion Honneur Commandeur ribbon.svg|70px]] Commander of the [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Legion of Honor]] (1987)
**[[File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg|70px]] Officer of the [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Legion of Honor]] (1981)
**[[File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg|70px]] Officer of the [[Legion of Honor|Order of the Legion of Honor]] (1981)
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** [[File:Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with palm France - ribbon bar.svg|70px]] Recipient of the [[Croix de guerre 1939-1945|Croix de guerre 1939–1945 with bronze palms]]
** [[File:Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with palm France - ribbon bar.svg|70px]] Recipient of the [[Croix de guerre 1939-1945|Croix de guerre 1939–1945 with bronze palms]]
** [[File:Medaille de la Resistance ribbon.svg|70px]] Recipient of the [[Médaille de la Résistance]]
** [[File:Medaille de la Resistance ribbon.svg|70px]] Recipient of the [[Médaille de la Résistance]]

*{{flag|Quebec}}:
*{{flag|Quebec}}:
**[[File:National Order Quebec ribbon bar.svg|70px]] Grand Officer of the [[National Order of stars]]
**[[File:National Order Quebec ribbon bar.svg|70px]] Grand Officer of the [[National Order of Quebec]]


==Awards==
==Awards==
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== Bibliography ==
== 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.
He wrote many books and articles, including a book for children aged over ten, titled ''C'est quoi la mort?''. Many of his publications have been translated into English. All profits from [[authors' rights]] (books, discs and videos) go to the ''Fondation Abbé Pierre'' which supports homeless and hungry people.


* 1987: ''Bernard Chevallier interroge l'abbé Pierre: Emmaüs ou venger l'homme'', with Bernard Chevalier, éd. LGF/Livre de Poche, Paris. &mdash; {{ISBN|2-253-04151-3}}.
* 1987: ''Bernard Chevallier interroge l'abbé Pierre: Emmaüs ou venger l'homme'', with Bernard Chevalier, éd. LGF/Livre de Poche, Paris. &mdash; {{ISBN|2-253-04151-3}}.
* 1988: ''Cent poèmes contre la misère'', éd. Le Cherche-midi, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-86274-141-8}}.
* 1988: ''Cent poèmes contre la misère'', éd. Le Cherche-midi, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-86274-141-8}}.
* 1993: ''Dieu et les hommes'', with Bernard Kouchner, éd. Robert Laffont &mdash; {{ISBN|2-221-07618-4}}.
* 1993: ''Dieu et les hommes'', with Bernard Kouchner, éd. Robert Laffont &mdash; {{ISBN|2-221-07618-4}}.
* 1994: ''Testament...'' &mdash; {{ISBN|2-7242-8103-9}}. Réédition 2005, éd. Bayard/Centurion, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-227-47532-3}}.
* 1994: ''Testament…'' &mdash; {{ISBN|2-7242-8103-9}}. Réédition 2005, éd. Bayard/Centurion, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-227-47532-3}}.
* 1994: ''Une terre et des hommes'', éd. Cerf, Paris.
* 1994: ''Une terre et des hommes'', éd. Cerf, Paris.
* 1994: ''Absolu'', éd. Seuil, Paris.
* 1994: ''Absolu'', éd. Seuil, Paris.
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* 1999: ''Fraternité'', éd. Fayard, Paris.
* 1999: ''Fraternité'', éd. Fayard, Paris.
* 1999: ''Paroles'', éd. Actes Sud, Paris.
* 1999: ''Paroles'', éd. Actes Sud, Paris.
* 1999: ''C'est quoi la mort?'',
* 1999: ''C'est quoi la mort?''
* 1999: ''J'attendrai le plaisir du Bon Dieu: l'intégrale des entretiens d'Edmond Blattchen'', éd. Alice, Paris.
* 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. [[Groupe Flammarion|Flammarion]], Paris.
* 2000: ''En route vers l'absolu'', éd. [[Groupe Flammarion|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. [[J'ai lu]], Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-290-30999-0}}.
* 2001: ''La Planète des pauvres. Le tour du monde à vélo des communautés Emmaüs'', de Louis Harenger, Michel Friedman, Emmaus international, Abbé Pierre, éd. J'ai lu, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-290-30999-0}}.
* 2002: ''Confessions'', éd. [[Albin Michel]], Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-226-13051-9}}.
* 2002: ''Confessions'', éd. [[Albin Michel]], Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-226-13051-9}}.
* 2002: ''Je voulais être marin, missionnaire ou brigand'', rédigé avec Denis Lefèvre, éd. Le Cherche-midi, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-7491-0015-1}}. Réédition en livre de poche, éd. J'ai lu, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-290-34221-1}}.
* 2002: ''Je voulais être marin, missionnaire ou brigand'', rédigé avec Denis Lefèvre, éd. Le Cherche-midi, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-7491-0015-1}}. Réédition en livre de poche, éd. J'ai lu, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-290-34221-1}}.
Line 164: Line 160:
* 2004: ''L'Abbé Pierre parle aux jeunes'', with Pierre-Roland Saint-Dizier, éd. Du Signe, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-7468-1257-6}}.
* 2004: ''L'Abbé Pierre parle aux jeunes'', with Pierre-Roland Saint-Dizier, éd. Du Signe, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-7468-1257-6}}.
* 2005: ''Le sourire d'un ange'', éd. Elytis, Paris.
* 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 [[Frédéric Lenoir]], éd. [[Plon (publisher)|Plon]] &mdash; {{ISBN|2-259-20140-7}}.
* 2005: ''Mon Dieu… pourquoi? Petites méditations sur la foi chrétienne et le sens de la vie'', with [[Frédéric Lenoir]], éd. [[Plon (publisher)|Plon]] &mdash; {{ISBN|2-259-20140-7}}.
* 2006: ''Servir : Paroles de vie'', with Albine Navarino, éd. Presses du Châtelet, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-84592-186-1}}.
* 2006: ''Servir: Paroles de vie'', with Albine Navarino, éd. Presses du Châtelet, Paris &mdash; {{ISBN|2-84592-186-1}}.


== Discography (interviews, etc.) ==
== Discography ==
* 2001: ''Radioscopie: Abbé Pierre - Entretien avec Jacques Chancel'', CD Audio - {{OCLC|416996272}}.
* 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:
* 1988–2003: ''Éclats De Voix'', suite de CD Audio, Poèmes et réflexions, en 4 volumes:
** Vol. 1: ''Le Temps des Catacombes'', rééd. label Celia - {{OCLC|416996232}}.
** Vol. 1: ''Le Temps des Catacombes'', rééd. label Celia - {{OCLC|416996232}}.
** Vol. 2: ''Hors de Soi'', rééd. label Celia - {{OCLC|416996251}}.
** Vol. 2: ''Hors de Soi'', rééd. label Celia - {{OCLC|416996251}}.
** Vol. 3: ''Corsaire de Dieu'', rééd. label Celia - {{OCLC|416996232}}.
** Vol. 3: ''Corsaire de Dieu'', rééd. label Celia - {{OCLC|416996232}}.
** Vol. 4: ''?'', label Scalen - {{OCLC|401716081}}.
** Vol. 4: ''?'', label Scalen - {{OCLC|401716081}}.
* 2005: Le CD ''Testament...'', pour fêter le 56<sup>e</sup> anniversaire de la Foundation d'Emmaüs (réflexions personnelles, textes et paroles inspirées de la [[Bible]]) - {{ISBN|2-227-47532-3}}.
* 2005: Le CD ''Testament…'', pour fêter le 56<sup>e</sup> anniversaire de la Foundation d'Emmaüs (réflexions personnelles, textes et paroles inspirées de la [[Bible]]) - {{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}}.
* 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: ''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}}.
* 2006: ''Paroles de Paix de l'Abbé Pierre'', CD audio, label Fremeux - {{OCLC|419366250}}.
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* 1955: ''[[Les Chiffonniers d'Emmaüs]]'' from [[Robert Darène]] with [[Pierre Mondy]].
* 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]].
* 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]]
* 2023: ''[[Abbé Pierre – A Century of Devotion]]'' from Frédéric Tellier with [[Benjamin Lavernhe]] and [[Emmanuelle Bercot]].


==See also==
==See also==
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[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Clergy from Lyon]]
[[Category:Abbé Pierre|*]]
[[Category:20th-century French Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:20th-century French Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:Abbés]]
[[Category:Capuchins]]
[[Category:Politicians from Lyon]]
[[Category:Popular Republican Movement politicians]]
[[Category:Young Republic League politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1945)]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of France (1946)]]
[[Category:Deputies of the 1st National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]]
[[Category:French anti-poverty advocates]]
[[Category:French Army soldiers]]
[[Category:French Navy chaplains]]
[[Category:World War II chaplains]]
[[Category:French Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:French Resistance members]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)]]
[[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Resistance Medal]]
[[Category:Officers of the National Order of the Cedar]]
[[Category:World Constitutional Convention call signatories]]

Latest revision as of 02:16, 16 December 2024

Abbé Pierre
Pierre in 1999
Born
Henri Marie Joseph Grouès

(1912-08-05)5 August 1912
Died22 January 2007(2007-01-22) (aged 94)
Paris, France
Known forFounder of Emmaus
Political partyMRP
Member of the National Assembly
for Meurthe-et-Moselle
In office
1 October 1945 – 4 July 1951

Abbé Pierre GOQ (born Henri Marie Joseph Grouès;[1] 5 August 1912 – 22 January 2007) was a French Catholic priest. He was a member of the Resistance during World War II and deputy of the Popular Republican Movement. In 1949, he founded the Emmaus movement, with the goal of helping poor and homeless people. For years, he was one of the most popular figures in France. Allegations of sexual abuse of at least two dozen women and children emerged in 2024.

Youth and education

[edit]

Grouès was born on 5 August 1912 in Lyon, France to a wealthy Catholic family of silk traders, the fifth of eight children. The writer and murderer Héra Mirtel was one of his aunts. 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.[citation needed]

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, renouncing his inheritance and offering all his possessions to charity.[citation needed]

Known as frère Philippe (Brother Philippe), he entered the monastery of Crest in 1932, where he lived for seven years and was ordained a priest on 24 August 1938. He had to leave in 1939 after developing severe lung infections, which made monastic life difficult to cope with. He became chaplain to the sick at several places[2] and then was nominated as curate of Grenoble's cathedral in April 1939, only a few months before the invasion of Poland.[3]

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".[4]

World War II

[edit]

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".[5]

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 maquis where he officially became one of the local leaders in the Vercors Plateau and in the Chartreuse Mountains. He helped people to avoid being taken into the Service du travail obligatoire (STO), the Nazi forced-labour program agreed upon with Pierre Laval, by creating in Grenoble the first refuge for resistants to the STO; he founded the clandestine newspaper L'Union patriotique indépendante.[2][8] 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.[9]

He was arrested twice, once in 1944 by the Nazi police in the town of Cambo-les-Bains in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, but was quickly released and travelled to Spain then Gibraltar before joining the Free French Forces of General de Gaulle in Algeria.[8] In the Free North Africa, he became a chaplain in the French Navy on the battleship Jean Bart in Casablanca. He had become an important symbol of the French Resistance.[citation needed]

At the end of the war, he was awarded the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with bronze palms and the Médaille de la Résistance.[citation needed]

Political career (1945–51) and the 1960s–70s

[edit]

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 (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 in 1947, a universal federalist movement.[citation needed]

After a bloody accident resulting in the death of a blue-collar worker, Édouard Mazé, in Brest in 1950, Henri Antoine Grouès decided to put an end to his MRP affiliation on 28 April 1950, writing a letter titled "Pourquoi je quitte le MRP" ("Why I'm leaving the MRP"), where he denounced the political and social attitude of the MRP party. He then joined the Christian socialist movement named Ligue de la jeune République, created in 1912 by Marc Sangnier, but decided to finally end his political career. In 1951, before the end of his mandate, he returned to his first vocation: helping the homeless. With the modest funds he had received as a deputy, he invested in a run-down house near Paris in the Neuilly-Plaisance neighbourhood, repairing the whole house. He made it the first Emmaus base (because, according to him, it was simply too big for one person).[citation needed]

Although the priest had left 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 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, who asked for his advice on the Colombian Church's criticism of "workers' priests". He was also received by US president Eisenhower and Mohammed V of Morocco in 1955 and 1956. In 1962, he resided for several months in Charles de Foucauld's retreat in Béni-Abbés (Algeria). [citation needed]

Abbé Pierre was then called to India in 1971 by Jayaprakash Narayan to represent, along with the Ligue des droits de l'homme (Human Rights League) France in the issues of refugees. Indira Gandhi then invited him to deal with the question of Bengali refugees, and Grouès founded Emmaus communities in Bangladesh. [citation needed]

Emmaus

[edit]

1949: the origin

[edit]

Emmaus (Emmaüs in French) was started in 1949. Its name is a reference to a village in Palestine 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 Radio Luxembourg game show Quitte ou double (Double or Nothing) for the prize money; he ended up winning 256,000 francs.[citation needed]

Winter 1954: "Uprising of kindness"

[edit]

Grouès 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 on 1 February 1954, and asked Le Figaro, a conservative newspaper, to publish his call, in which he stated soberly that "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". He went on to describe the drama of homeless life, claiming that in "every town in France, in every quarter of Paris" ministry was needed based on "these simple words: 'If you suffer, whoever you are, enter, eat, sleep, recover hope, here you are loved'".[11]

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, Grouès had to organise his movement by creating the Emmaus communities on 23 March 1954. [citation needed]

Abbé Pierre (1955)

A book was written by Boris Simon called Abbé Pierre and the ragpickers of Emmaus. It spread knowledge about the Emmaus community. In 1955, the priest gave President Eisenhower an English translation of the book in the oval office. [citation needed] The Emmaus communities quickly spread worldwide. Grouès traveled to Beyrouth (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. [citation needed]

1980s to 2000s

[edit]

After the 1981 election of President François Mitterrand (Socialist Party, PS), during which Abbé Pierre called for voters to vote in blank[12]), he supported the initiative of the French Premier Laurent Fabius (PS) to create in 1984 the Revenu minimum d'insertion (RMI), a welfare system for indigent people.[13] The same year, he organized the operation "Charity Christmas", which, relayed by France Soir, raised 6 million francs and 200 tons of products. The actor Coluche, who had organized the charitable Restos du Cœur, offered him 150 million French cents received by his organisation.[13] Coluche's huge success with the Restos du Cœur, caused by his popularity (Coluche had even tried to nominate himself as a candidate in 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. [citation needed]

In 1983, he spoke with Italian President Sandro Pertini to plead the cause of Vanni Mulinaris, imprisoned on charge of assistance to the Red Brigades (BR), and even observed eight days of hunger strike 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17] La Repubblica specified that Italian justice has recognized the innocence of all people close to the Hyperion School.[18]

Following Grouès' 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 International Monetary Fund (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, he went there to exhort nations of the world to put an end to the violence, and requested French military operation against the Serb positions in Bosnia.[citation needed]

During the Gulf War (1990–91), Abbé Pierre directly addressed himself to US President George H. W. Bush and Iraq President Saddam Hussein. 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 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.[19]

His support "à titre amical" ("in title of friendship") for Roger Garaudy in 1996 brought controversy. The "Garaudy Affair" had been revealed in January 1996 by the Canard enchaîné satirical newspaper, which prompted a series of denunciations against his book, "The Foundational Myths of Israeli Politics", and led Garaudy to be charged of negationism (before being convicted in 1998, under the 1990 Gayssot Act). 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 LICRA (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 (MRAP, CRIF, Anti-Defamation League, etc.) and the Church hierarchy.[20] His friend Bernard Kouchner, co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), criticized him for "absolving the intolerable,[21]" while Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger (and archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005) publicly disavowed him.[22] The Abbé then went into retreat in the Benedictine monastery of Praglia near Padua, Italy.[23] 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 statements in his book, which he had not read.[citation needed]

The curator of the Deportation and Resistance Museum of the Isère department where Grouès carried out most of his resistance activities declared that Abbé Pierre 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 period by the media,[13] although Grouès remained a popular figure.

Positions on the Church hierarchy and the Vatican's policies

[edit]

The Abbé's positions towards the Church and the Vatican also brought controversy. His positions on social issues and engagements were at times explicitly socialist and opposed to the Church. [clarification needed] He maintained a relationship with the progressive French Catholic Bishop Jacques Gaillot, to which he recalled his duty of "instinct of a measured insolence".[13] He did not like Mother Teresa; 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. L'Osservatore Romano, 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 Pope Benedict XVI 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, Roger Etchegaray and Paul Poupard. His criticisms of what he considered the lavish lifestyle of the Vatican got him a lot of publicity (especially when he reproached John Paul II for his expensive travels), but were not well received by the public. Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone lauded his "action in favor of poor":[24] "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".[citation needed]

His support for the ordination of women[25] and for married clergy put him at odds with Catholic tradition, Church leaders and a substantial portion of French Catholics that followed the traditional teaching of the Church. The same stances, according to British state media, made him popular among the declining number of left-wing Catholics in France.[19] In his book Mon Dieu… pourquoi? (God… Why?, 2005), co-written with Frédéric Lenoir, he admitted to breaking his solemn promise of celibacy by having had casual sex with women.[26][27] 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 contraceptives.[13]

Global policy

[edit]

He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a world constitution.[28][29] As a result, for the first time in human history, a World Constituent Assembly convened to draft and adopt a Constitution for the Federation of Earth.[30]

Public image

[edit]

International recognition

[edit]

Abbé Pierre had the distinction of having been voted France's most popular person for many years, though he was surpassed in 2003 by Zinedine Zidane, moving to second place.[31] In 2005, Abbé Pierre came third in a television poll to choose Le Plus Grand Français (The Greatest Frenchman).[citation needed]

In 1998, he has been made Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec while in 2004, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor by Jacques Chirac. He also received the Balzan Prize 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".[32]

Accidents and health problems

[edit]

He was often 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, his plane had to make an emergency landing due to engine failure.
  • In 1963, his ship was shipwrecked in the Río de la Plata, between Argentina and Uruguay. He survived by clinging to a wooden part of the ship, while around him 80 passengers died. On a later trip to Algiers he showed the pocket knife which had enabled him to survive this ordeal.

Sexual abuse

[edit]

In July 2024, the Fondation Abbé Pierre and Emmaus issued a statement about the results of an investigation they had commissioned after reports of abuse by Pierre had come to light. An independent research group reported that seven women (one of them a minor at the time of abuse) gave testimony about abuse they suffered at the hands of the French priest between the late 1970s and 2005.[33][34]

In September 2024, a report commissioned by the Fondation reported that Abbé Pierre sexually harassed or assaulted at least two dozen women.[35] An 8-9 year child was also allegedly abused.[35] The abuse happened in France and in the United States. The second report led the Abbé Pierre Foundation being retitled, and Emmaus France voting on removing the priest's name from its logo. The Abbé Pierre Centre in Esteville in Normandy, where he lived for many years and is buried, was to close, and the disposal of hundreds of statuettes, busts and other images of the charity's creator was discussed. There was evidence that colleagues in Emmaus and the Catholic Church knew about Abbé Pierre's sexual behaviour, but did not speak out.[36]

Death

[edit]

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.[37] He took a stance on most social struggles: supporting illegal aliens, assisting the homeless on the "Enfants de Don Quichotte" movement (end of 2006-start of 2007) and social movements in favor of requisitioning empty buildings and offices (squats), etc. He continued to read La Croix, the Catholic social newspaper every day.[38] In January 2007, he went to the National Assembly to lobby for a law on lodging homeless people.[8] Following his death, the Minister of Social Cohesion Jean-Louis Borloo (UMP) decided to give Abbé Pierre's name to the law, despite the latter's scepticism of the law's real value.[39] In 2005 he opposed conservative deputies who wanted to reform the Gayssot Act on housing projects (loi SRU), which would have imposed a 20% housing project limit in each town.[2]

After homage by dignitaries, several hundred ordinary Parisians (among them professor Albert Jacquard, who worked with the abbé for the cause of homelessness) went to the Val-de-Grâce chapel to pay their respects.[40] His funeral on 26 January 2007 at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris was attended by numerous dignitaries: President Jacques Chirac, former President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, many French Ministers, and the Companions of Emmaus, who were seated in the cathedral's first rows according to Abbé Pierre's last wishes. He was buried in a cemetery in Esteville, a small village in Seine-Maritime where he once lived.[41]

Honours

[edit]

Awards

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]

He wrote many books and articles, including a book for children aged over ten, titled C'est quoi la mort?. Many of his publications have been translated into English. All profits from authors' rights (books, discs and videos) go to the Fondation Abbé Pierre which supports homeless and hungry people.

  • 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 2-7242-8103-9. Réédition 2005, éd. Bayard/Centurion, Paris — 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, Michel Friedman, Emmaus international, Abbé Pierre, éd. J'ai lu, Paris — ISBN 2-290-30999-0.
  • 2002: Confessions, éd. Albin Michel, Paris — ISBN 2-226-13051-9.
  • 2002: Je voulais être marin, missionnaire ou brigand, rédigé avec Denis Lefèvre, éd. Le Cherche-midi, Paris — ISBN 2-7491-0015-1. Réédition en livre de poche, éd. J'ai lu, 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 Frédéric Lenoir, éd. PlonISBN 2-259-20140-7.
  • 2006: Servir: Paroles de vie, with Albine Navarino, éd. Presses du Châtelet, Paris — ISBN 2-84592-186-1.

Discography

[edit]
  • 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 Bible) - 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

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ He was nominated in 1992 but accepted it only in 2001, the delay being a protest of the French government's refusal to give vacant lodgings to homeless people.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Décret du 13 juillet 2004 portant élévation aux dignités de grand'croix et de grand officier". JORF. 2004 (162): 12696. 14 July 2004. PREX0407464D. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  2. ^ a b c L'insurgé de la bonté[permanent dead link], L'Humanité, 23 January 2007 (in French)
  3. ^ Fondation Abbé Pierre Archived January 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ «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)
  5. ^ Clarke, P. J. (2012). Lives That Made a Difference. Strategic Book Publishing. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-62212-014-7.
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ "Mlle Lucie Coutaz". Centre Abbe Pierre Emmaus Esteville. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  10. ^ Albine Novarino. (2007) L'abbé Pierre: Citations (French) Paris: Huitième Jour Editions. ISBN 978-2-914119-88-7
  11. ^ l'Appel de l'Abbé Pierre (in French)
  12. ^ le Vaillant, Luc (24 September 2002). "L'abbé ne fait pas le moine" (in French). Libération.
  13. ^ a b c d e Le diable et le Bon Dieu, Le Figaro, 26 January 2007 (in French)
  14. ^ 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)
  15. ^ 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)
  16. ^ 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)
  17. ^ D'inattendues amitiés brigadistes, Libération, 24 January 2007 (in French)
  18. ^ 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)
  19. ^ a b Nation to honour French activist, BBC, 22 January 2007 (in English)
  20. ^ L’abbé Pierre exclu de la LICRA Archived June 21, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, L'Humanité, 2 May 1996 (in French)
  21. ^ 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)
  22. ^ L'ami du révisionniste Garaudy, Le Nouvel Observateur, 27 January 2007 (in French)
  23. ^ See Abbazia di Praglia
  24. ^ L’abbé Pierre: un prêtre gênant même après sa mort Archived January 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Marianne, 23 January 2007 (in French)
  25. ^ 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)
  26. ^ Sex confessions of 'living saint' shock France, The Guardian, 28 October 2005 (in English)
  27. ^ French champion of homeless dies aged 94, Financial Times, January 22, 2007
  28. ^ "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.
  29. ^ "Letter from World Constitution Coordinating Committee to Helen, enclosing current materials". Helen Keller Archive. American Foundation for the Blind. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  30. ^ "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.
  31. ^ Le Top 50 des personnalités - Août 2005 Archived February 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ "A Man of Humanity: Abbé Pierre (1912-2007)". May 15, 2008.
  33. ^ "L'abbé Pierre est accusé de violences sexuelles par plusieurs femmes, annoncent Emmaüs et la Fondation Abbé-Pierre" [Abbé Pierre is accused of sexual violence by several women, announce Emmaus and the Fondation Abbé Pierre] (in French). France Info. AFP. 17 July 2024.
  34. ^ Plummer, Robert (July 18, 2024). "French priest accused of sexual assaults 17 years after death". BBC.
  35. ^ a b Breeden, Aurelien (2024-09-14). "Sexual Abuse Allegations Shatter a Crusading Priest's Legacy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  36. ^ Schofield, Hugh (9 September 2024). "New abuse allegations emerge against venerated Abbé Pierre". BBC News.
  37. ^ "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)
  38. ^ L'abbé Pierre, l'insurgé de Dieu, Le Figaro Magazine, January 26, 2007 (in French)
  39. ^ Le nom de l’Abbé Pierre réquisitionné par Borloo[permanent dead link], L'Humanité, 23 January 2007 (in French)
  40. ^ Des centaines de Parisiens venus saluer l'abbé Pierre, Le Figaro, January 24, 2007 (in French)
  41. ^ 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)
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