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Abbé Pierre

Origin: Lyon, France
(August 5, 1912 - January 22, 2007)

Heroic Values: Achievement, Caring, Courage, Faith, Humility, Integrity, Perseverance, Selflessness, Tolerance, Vision, Wisdom

Background

Henri Grouès gained the name Abbé Pierre during and after World War Two as a member of the French Resistance. He had been a monk, but was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest just before the war started. His work with the resistance saw him captured by the Germans, but he escaped to Algiers where he met Charles DeGaulle.

In 1949, he founded the first Emmaus project in a rented house. It is named after the village where Jesus appeared resurrected to his disciples on Easter Monday. It became a haven for the poor and disenchanted who struggled to live after the war. Housing for the poor was constructed and a rule was written: "Never will we accept that our means of living depend on something other than our work." In 1954 a woman died on the streets due to the severe cold. Pierre made a plea on the radio for donations to help the homeless and requested one million franks from the government. The people of France donated in droves and the government gave ten million franks to the cause.

Abbé Pierre has been regularly voted as one of France's greatest people. He gave his life to the cause of the people around, especially those without privilege. Emmaus International is now in fifty countries helping deal with poverty.

Sources

Wikipedia
The online encyclopedia

Emmaus International
Main site

La Fondation
The Abbé Pierre Foundation