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'{{Infobox person | name = Abbé Pierre | image = ABBE PIERRE-1999Without.jpg | caption = Founder of the [[Emmaus (charity)|Emmaus movement]] | quotation = | birth_name = Henri Marie Joseph Grouès | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1912|8|5}} | birth_place = [[Lyon, France]] | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2007|1|22|1912|8|5}} | death_place = [[Paris, France]]}} '''Abbé Pierre''', [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|OFM Cap]], {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|GOQ}} (born '''Henri Marie Joseph Grouès''';<ref name="jorf20040714"/> 5 August 1912 – 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). In 1949, he founded the [[Emmaus (charity)|Emmaus]] movement, with the goal of helping poor and homeless people and refugees. ''[[Abbé]]'' means [[abbot]] in French, and is also used as a courtesy title given to Catholic priests in French-speaking countries. He was one of the most popular figures in France, but had his name removed from such polls after some time.<ref name="top50personnalites">''[http://www.ifop.com/europe/docs/toppersonnalit%E9s.pdf Le top 50 des personnalités]'', 12/06, sondage [[Institut français d'opinion publique|IFOP]] pour [[Le Journal du Dimanche]] p.12 et suivantes</ref> == 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. He spent his childhood in [[Irigny]], near Lyon. He was twelve when he met [[François Chabbey]] and went for the first time with his father to an Order circle, the brotherhood of the ''"[[Hospitaliers veilleurs]]"'' in which the mainly middle-class members would serve the poor by providing barber services. Grouès became a member of the ''[[Scouts de France]]'' in which he was nicknamed "Meditative Beaver" (''Castor méditatif''). In 1928, aged 16, he made the decision to join a monastic order, but he had to wait until he was seventeen and a half to fulfill this ambition. In 1931 Grouès entered the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin Order]], the principal off-shoot of the [[Franciscans]], renouncing his inheritances and offering all his possessions to charities. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} Known as ''frère Philippe'' (Brother Philippe), he entered the monastery of [[Crest, Drôme|Crest]] in 1932, where he lived seven years. He had to leave in 1939 after developing severe lung infections, which made the strict and hard monastic life difficult to cope with. He became [[chaplain]] in the hospital of [[La Mure]] (Isère), and then of an orphanage in the [[Côte-Saint-André]] (also in the Isère department).<ref name="NecroHuma"/> After being [[Holy Orders|ordained]] a Roman Catholic priest on 24 August 1938, he became [[curate]] of [[Grenoble]]'s cathedral in April 1939, only a few months before the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invasion of Poland]].<ref>[http://www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr/abbe_pierre.html Fondation Abbé Pierre]</ref> The [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] Fr. [[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 {{fr icon}}</ref> ==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". 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], ''[[The Scotsman]]'', 23 January 2007 {{en icon}}</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 {{fr icon}}</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 refugee 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], ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 23 January 2007 {{fr icon}}</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"], 23 January 2007 ([http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-857943@51-857899,0.html original article here] {{en icon}}/{{fr icon}}</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. 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]]''. Like other members of the Resistance, his experience would mark him for life, teaching him the necessity of engaging himself to protect fundamental [[human rights]] through legal means and, if need be, through a sort of [[civil disobedience]] doctrine. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} ==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 [[French National Assembly|deputy]] for [[Meurthe-et-Moselle|Meurthe-et-Moselle department]] in both [[French Third Republic#Collapse|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 [[Confédération mondiale]] in 1947, a universal federalist movement. He also co-founded with writers [[Albert Camus]] and [[André Gide]] the support committee for [[Garry Davis]], an American who tore apart his passport before the US embassy in a gesture of protest against nationalism. {{Clarify|date=August 2013}} In 1945, he invited philosophers [[Teilhard de Chardin]], a Jesuit inventor of the concept of the [[noosphere]], and who wasn't in particularly good terms with the [[Roman Curia]], and the Russian [[Nikolai Berdyaev]] at his home, but both men couldn't understand each other. He then met [[Albert Einstein]] in [[Princeton University|Princeton]] in 1948, to discuss of the "three nuclear explosions" and call with him for a worldwide [[nuclear disarmament]] movement based on [[pacifism]]. Einstein would sign in 1955 the [[Russell-Einstein Manifesto]] which called for international disarmament. {{Citation needed|date=August 2013}} After a bloody accident resulting in the death of a blue-collar worker, Édouard Mazé, in Brest in 1950, Abbé Pierre decided to put an end to his MRP affiliation on 28 April 1950, writing a letter titled ''"Pourquoi je quitte le MRP"'' ("Why I quit the MRP"), where he denounced the political and social attitude of the MRP party. He then joined the [[Christian socialist]] 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). Although the Abbé then 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}} 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}} ==Emmaus== === 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> 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"=== 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 which, as he said, was read by "the powerful", to publish his call:<blockquote> "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. </blockquote><blockquote>"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'.</blockquote><blockquote>"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] {{fr icon}}</ref></blockquote><blockquote> Thank you."</blockquote> 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}} In an Emmaus community, volunteers help homeless people by giving them accommodation, and somewhere to eat and work. A number of Emmaus volunteers are also formerly homeless people themselves, from all age groups, religious or ethnic origins, and social backgrounds. The Abbé Pierre strived to show desperate people that they too could help others, and thus that the weak could still help even weaker people. A book was written by Boris Simon which described the misery of poor ragpicker communities, called "Abbé Pierre and the ragpickers of Emmaus" which helped spread knowledge about the Emmaus community. In 1955 Abbé Pierre gives president Eisenhower an English translation of the book, in the oval office. {{Citation needed|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== [[File:Ab pierre.JPG|thumb|Portrait of the French Priest Abbe Pierre, etching.]] After the [[French presidential election, 1981|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]) {{fr icon}}</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 {{fr icon}}</ref> The same year, he organized the operation "Charity Christmas", which, relayed by ''[[France Soir]]'', brought 6 millions Francs and 200 tons of products. The actor [[Coluche]], who had organized the charitable ''[[Restos du Cœur]]'', offered him 150 millions 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 [[French presidential election, 1981|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], on the website of the French ''[[Archives Nationales]]'' (National Archives) {{fr icon}}</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»], ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'', 23 January 2007 {{it icon}}</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], ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'', 23 January 2007 {{it icon}}</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 {{fr icon}}</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]]'s website [http://www.la-croix.com/afp.static/pages/070123152331.3hduui9h.htm here] {{fr icon}}</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 on ''piazza del Gesù'' (Jesus Place) 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}} 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 {{en icon}}</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], ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 2 May 1996 {{fr icon}}</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], ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 30 April 1996 {{fr icon}}</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 {{fr icon}}</ref> The Abbé then went into retreat in the [[Benedictine]] monastery of [[Abbey of Praglia|Praglia]] near [[Padua, Italy]],<ref>See [[Abbazia di Praglia]]</ref> where, according to the [[Voltaire Network]], he would have met again Roger Garaudy. The Voltaire Network wrote that the Abbé had declared to the ''[[Corriere della Sera]]'' that the French press was "inspired by an international [[Zionist]] lobby".<ref name="NecroHuma"/><ref>[http://www.voltairenet.org/article2475.html L’abbé Pierre et Roger Garaudy continuent leur campagne antisémite], ''[[Voltaire Network]]'', 10 June 1996 {{fr icon}}</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 his statements in his book, which he had not read. 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">[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 {{fr icon}}</ref> Following this 1996 controversial support to a personal acquaintance, the Abbé was shunned for a small period by the media,<ref name="DBD"/> although the Abbé remained a popular figure. In 2004, he went to Algeria after the rebuilding of lodgings by the Fondation Abbé Pierre, following the 2003 earthquake which destroyed parts of the country. ==Positions on the Church hierarchy and the Vatican's policies== The Abbé's positions towards the [[Roman Catholic Church|Church]] and the [[Holy See|Vatican]] also brought controversy. His positions on social issues and engagements were at times explicitly left-wing. {{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">[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 {{fr icon}}</ref> and wasn't personally close to [[Mother Teresa]]. He had difficult relations with the Vatican. ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'' was silent following his death in January 2007 and there was no public statement following his death from [[Pope Benedict XVI]]. Father Lombardi, spokesman of the Vatican, sent journalists to the statement made by the French Church, while Benedict XVI only alluded to the visit of [[Montenegro]]'s embassador to the Vatican. The only official reactions from the Church came in two interviews of French cardinals, [[Roger Etchegaray]] and [[Paul Poupard]]. The Abbé's criticism of the lavish lifestyle of the Vatican, for example when he reproached [[John Paul II]] his expensive travels, were not well seen. [[Cardinal Secretary of State]] [[Tarcisio Bertone]] finally gave grace to the Abbé more than 24 hours after his death, by lauding 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], ''[[Marianne (magazine)|Marianne]]'', 23 January 2007 {{fr icon}}</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}} Some conservatives have criticized his support to the [[ordination of women]],<ref>[http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5614/29/ FRENCH CHAMPION OF HOMELESS DIES AGED 94], 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] {{en icon}}/{{fr icon}}</ref> and [[clerical marriage|married clergy]], stances which — according to [[BBC]] allegations — have made him popular among the French population.<ref name="BBC"/> In his book ''Mon Dieu... pourquoi?'' (God... Why?, 2005), co-written with [[Frédéric Lenoir]], he implicitly admitted once having had casual sex with a woman despite his vow of [[clerical celibacy]] in the [[Capuchin Order]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,1602564,00.html Sex confessions of 'living saint' shock France], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 28 October 2005 {{en icon}}</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> The book also supports parenting and adoption by homosexual couples, but does not support [[same-sex marriage]]. The Abbé also opposed the [[Pope]]'s policy against [[contraceptives]] concerning [[AIDS]].<ref name="DBD"/> ==International recognition== Abbé Pierre had the distinction of having been voted France's most popular person for many years, though in 2003 he was surpassed by [[Zinedine Zidane]], moving into second place.<ref>[http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/OPINIONF/top50persoaout2005.asp Le Top 50 des personnalités - Août 2005<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 2005 Abbé Pierre came third in a television poll to choose ''[[Le Plus Grand Français]]'' (The Greatest Frenchman). 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." {{citation needed|date=February 2007}} ==Accidents and health problems== He was regularly sick, particularly in the lungs when he was young. He was left unscathed in several dangerous situations: * In 1950, while on a flight in India, he survived when his plane had to make an emergency landing due to engine failure. * In 1963, his boat shipwrecked in the [[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). All of these experiences together created the image of Abbé Pierre being a ''miraculé''. == Death == Abbé Pierre remained active until his death on 22 January 2007 in the [[Val-de-Grâce]] military hospital in Paris, following a lung infection, aged 94.<ref>"Abbe Pierre, French campaigner for the poor, dies," [[Reuters]] news cable of Monday January 22, 2007 4:50am, ET31 - Temporarily available [http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2007-01-22T094927Z_01_L22731467_RTRUKOC_0_US-FRANCE-ABBEPIERRE.xml&WTmodLoc=IntNewsHome_C2_worldNews-6 here] {{en icon}}</ref> He took a stance on most social struggles: supporting [[illegal aliens]], assisting the homeless (the "Enfants de Don Quichotte" movement (end of 2006-start of 2007)) and social movements in favor of requisitioning empty buildings and offices ([[squatting|squats]]), etc. He continued to read each day ''[[La Croix]]'', the Christian social daily newspaper.<ref>[http://www.lefigaro.fr/magazine/20070126.MAG000000512_notre_hommage.html L'abbé Pierre, l'insurgé de Dieu], ''[[Le Figaro|Le Figaro Magazine]]'', January 26, 2007 {{fr icon}}</ref> In January 2007, he went to the National Assembly to oppose those deputies wanting to change the law on lodging for homeless people, promoted by President Jacques Chirac after the mobilization of the ''Enfants de Don Quichotte'' NGO.<ref name="LeMondeobit"/> Following his death, the Minister of Social Cohesion [[Jean-Louis Borloo]] ([[Union for a Popular Movement|UMP]]) decided to give Abbé Pierre's name to the law, despite the latter's scepticism of the real value and use of the law.<ref>[http://humanite.fr/journal/2007-01-23/2007-01-23-844505 Le nom de l’Abbé Pierre réquisitionné par Borloo], ''[[L'Humanité]]'', 23 January 2007 {{fr icon}}</ref> In 2005 he had opposed conservative deputies who wanted to reform the [[Jean-Claude Gayssot|Gayssot Act]] on housing projects (''loi SRU''), which sought to impose a 20% housing project limit in each town, on penalty of fines.<ref name="NecroHuma"/> After homage by dignitaries, several hundred ordinary Parisians (among them professor [[Albert Jacquard]], who struggled with the Abbé for the cause of homelessness) went to the Val-de-Grâce chapel to see Abbé Pierre's corpse.<ref>[http://www.lefigaro.fr/france/20070124.WWW000000359_dernier_hommage_a_labbe_pierre.html Des centaines de Parisiens venus saluer l'abbé Pierre], ''[[Le Figaro]]'', January 24, 2007 {{fr icon}}</ref> His funeral on 26 January 2007 at the [[Notre Dame de Paris|Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris]] was attended by numerous distinguished people: President [[Jacques Chirac]], former President [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]], Prime Minister [[Dominique de Villepin]], many French [[Minister (government)|Minister]]s, and of course the Companions of Emmaus, who were placed at the front of the congregation in the cathedral, according to Abbé Pierre's last wishes. He was buried in a cemetery in [[Esteville]], a small village in [[Seine-Maritime]] where he used to live.<ref>[http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3382,36-859915@51-857899,0.html L'abbé Pierre inhumé dans l'intimité], ''[[Le Monde]]'' (with the [[Agence France-Presse]], 25 January 2007 &mdash; actualized on January 26) {{fr icon}}</ref> Cardinal [[Philippe Barbarin]], [[archbishop of Lyon]], evoked a possible [[beatification]], but it seems unlikely in the near future.<ref>[http://www.la-croix.com/article/index.jsp?docId=2293323&rubId=11641 L'abbé Pierre, "une des plus belles figures évangéliques du siècle"], interview with Pierre Lunel, biographer of the Abbé Pierre, in ''[[La Croix]]'', 26 January 2007 {{fr icon}}</ref> ==Honours== * [[Legion of Honor|Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor]] in 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|accessdate=9 April 2009}} </ref> ** Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1992<ref> 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. </ref> ** Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1987 ** Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1981 * [[Médaille militaire]] * [[Croix de guerre 1939-1945|Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with bronze palms]] * [[Médaille de la Résistance]] * [[National Order of Quebec|Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec]] * [[Balzan Prize]] == Bibliography == He has written many books and articles, including a book for children aged over ten, titled ''C'est quoi la mort?''. Many of his publications are translated into English. All [[authors' rights]] (books, discs and videos) are versed to the ''Fondation Abbé Pierre'' concerning lodging and accommodations for those lacking these fundamental rights. * 1987: ''Bernard Chevallier interroge l’abbé Pierre: Emmaüs ou venger l’homme'', with Bernard Chevalier, éd. LGF/Livre de Poche, Paris. &mdash; ISBN 2-253-04151-3. * 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. * 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: ''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. [[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|J’ai lu]], Paris &mdash; ISBN 2-290-30999-0. * 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. * 2004: ''L'Abbé Pierre, la construction d’une légende'', by Philippe Falcone, éd. Golias &mdash; ISBN 2-914475-49-7. * 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: ''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. == Discography (interviews, etc.) == * 2001: ''Radioscopie: Abbé Pierre - Entretien avec Jacques Chancel'', CD Audio - {{ASIN|B00005NK45}}. * 1988-2003: ''Éclats De Voix'', suite de CD Audio, Poèmes et réflexions, en 4 volumes: ** Vol. 1: ''Le Temps des Catacombes'', rééd. label Celia - {{ASIN|B00005R2LK}}. ** Vol. 2: ''Hors de Soi'', rééd. label Celia - {{ASIN|B00005R2LL}}. ** Vol. 3: ''Corsaire de Dieu'', rééd. label Celia - {{ASIN|B00005R2LM}}. ** Vol. 4: ''?'', label Scalen - {{ASIN|B00004VAP4}}. * 2005: Le CD ''Testament...'', pour fêter le 56^e 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 - {{ASIN|B000CCZ2PE}}. * 2006: ''L’Insurgé de l’amour'', label Revues Bayard, Paris - {{ASIN|B000EQHSPU}}. * 2006: ''Paroles de Paix de l’Abbé Pierre'', CD audio, label Fremeux - {{ASIN|B0001GLG2Y}}. == Filmography == * 1955: ''[[Les Chiffonniers d'Emmaüs]]'' from [[Robert Darène]] with [[Pierre Mondy]]. * 1989: ''[[Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre]]'' from [[Denis Amar]], with [[Lambert Wilson]] and [[Claudia Cardinale]]. ==Fondation Abbé-Pierre== In November 2009, The Foundation's [http://www.fondationabbepierre.com/en Facebook page] was shut down without notice or explanation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Societe/Facebook-Fondation-Abbe-Pierre-evincee-169134|title=Quand Facebook ne veut plus de La Fondation Abbé-Pierre...|date=14 November 2009|work=Paris Match|accessdate=16 February 2015|language=fr}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Emmaus Mouvement]] * [[Streetwise priest]] == References == {{reflist|2}} == External links == {{Commons category|Abbé Pierre}} * [http://www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr/ Fondation Abbé Pierre] * [http://www.emmaus-international.org/ Emmaus International] * [http://www.balzan.it International Balzan Foundation] * [http://www.ufppc.org/us-a-world-news-mainmenu-35/5614/ Obituary in ''Le Monde'' (Paris), 23 January 2007 (English translation)] * [http://www.lefigaro.fr/une/20070122.WWW000000911_le_premier_appel_de_l_abbe_pierre_dans_le_figaro.html 7 January 1954 call for homeless people], published in ''[[Le Figaro]]'' (22 January 2007) * [http://atheisme.free.fr/Revue_presse/Mort_abbe_pierre.htm French review of press titles for his death] {{Authority control|PND=118542745|LCCN=n/85/148666|VIAF=114404636|TSURL=viaf/114404636}} {{Persondata |NAME= Pierre, Abbe |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION= French politician |DATE OF BIRTH= 5 August 1912 |PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Lyon]], France |DATE OF DEATH= 22 January 2007 |PLACE OF DEATH= Paris, France}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierre, Abbe}} [[Category:1912 births]] [[Category:2007 deaths]] [[Category:People from Lyon]] [[Category:Abbés]] [[Category:Politicians from Rhône-Alpes]] [[Category:Popular Republican Movement politicians]] [[Category:Young Republic League politicians]] [[Category:Members of the National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic]] [[Category:Anti-poverty advocates]] [[Category:French humanitarians]] [[Category:French military personnel of World War II]] [[Category:French Roman Catholic priests]] [[Category:French Resistance members]] [[Category:Capuchins]] [[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (France)]] [[Category:Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur]] [[Category:Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec]] [[Category:Recipients of the Resistance Medal]] [[Category:Officers of the National Order of the Cedar (Lebanon)]] [[Category:French military chaplains]] [[Category:French Navy chaplains]] [[Category:World War II chaplains]]'