Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier (2012)

Jean Vanier , CC , GOQ (born September 10, 1928 in Geneva , Switzerland - † May 7, 2019 in Paris , France ) was a Canadian Catholic theologian and philosopher and the founder of the Arche ( L'Arche ), an international ecumenical organization, which founds communities in which people with and without intellectual disabilities live together in a Christian way. At the same time, in 1971, together with Marie-Hélène Mathieu, he founded the worldwide movement Faith and Light . In the 1,612 groups in 81 countries, people with disabilities, their families and friends meet regularly for exchange, prayer and celebration.

Life

Jean Vanier was a son of the future Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier . He was born in Geneva because his father was a representative of Canada to the League of Nations there. He later grew up in Canada , England and France . When he was thirteen he entered the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Devon . Most recently, he served as a naval officer on the Canadian aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent . In 1950, after a pilgrimage to Lourdes, he said goodbye to the navy to live in a community near Paris . Vanier began studying theology and philosophy in Paris. After completing his doctorate (doctoral thesis on Aristotle ), he taught from 1962 at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto .

In 1964, Vanier and Père Thomas Philippe took two mentally handicapped men (Raphaël and Philippe) into a house in Trosly-Breuil , a French village near Compiègne , the first house on the ark. He discovered “the depth of their suffering and their cry for a true relationship, but also their joy in community with people” (Vanier quote). He wanted to help them and suddenly realized how they were helping him. In 1965 Vanier took over the management of the home for the handicapped in Val Fleuri, where 32 men with intellectual disabilities lived. He changed the home so that handicapped and non-handicapped people lived together in house communities, from which the Arche movement emerged. In 1969 the first archeological communities outside France, "Daybreak" in Toronto, Canada, and "Asha Niketan" in Bangalore, India, were founded. In the 1970s, structures, common guidelines and a charter of the archaeological communities were developed.

In 1981, Jean Vanier took a sabbatical year and handed over his management role to other co-responsible persons. Since then he has passed on his experience of living with mentally handicapped people worldwide in lectures and publications.

In Germany there are three Arche communities in the following cities: Tecklenburg , Ravensburg and Landsberg am Lech . Worldwide there are 154 arks in 38 countries on all five continents. The psychologist and writer Henri Nouwen spent the last ten years of his life in the Canadian Daybreak Ark .

He died in Paris on May 7, 2019 at the age of 90.

Sexual abuse allegation

After several women had accused Jean Vanier of sexual abuse, an investigation was commissioned by the "Arche". This confirmed allegations that Vanier used his position from 1970 to 2005 and molested at least six women.

Honors

He was accepted into the French Legion of Honor .

2015 Vanier was the 1.1 million pounds sterling doped Templeton Prize awarded.

The film Summer in the Forest is about him. On the occasion of the premiere in 2017, he was received by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace .

Pope Francis spoke to Vanier on the phone shortly before his death to thank him for his life's work.

Publications

Live in community. My experiences. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1993, ISBN 3-451-23244-8 .
Wide heart. On the trail of the secret of love. Neufeld, Schwarzenfeld 2010, ISBN 978-3-937896-92-2 .
From the wounds of the heart. Companion through times of depression. Neufeld, Schwarzenfeld 2011, ISBN 978-3-86256-015-8 .
Pretty vulnerable, pretty strong: Paths to a solidary society. Together with Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Laurent de Cherisey. Hanser, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-446-24155-8 .
Me and you: to meet the other as a person. Neufeld, Schwarzenfeld 2013, ISBN 978-3-86256-036-3 .
Sign of the times: For a church that gives hope. Edition Wortschatz, Schwarzenfeld 2016, ISBN 978-3-943362-37-4 .
Of love, hope and the last things. Memories from the founder of the ark. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2017, ISBN 978-3-451-32072-9 .

literature

Kathryn Spink: Jean Vanier and the Ark. The story of an extraordinary calling. The biography for the 80th birthday. Neufeld, Schwarzenfeld 2008, ISBN 978-3-937896-66-3 .

Web links

Commons : Jean Vanier - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Thomas Isler: A saint of his time. NZZ on Sunday, May 11, 2019, accessed on May 12, 2019
↑ Jean Vanier. In: Website Arche Im Nauen. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017 ; accessed on May 7, 2019 .
↑ Martina Werle, Sandro Göpfert: Encounter with Jean Vanier. In: Zeitschrift AufAtmen 2/2017, pp. 48–51.
^ Jean Vanier, le fondateur de L'Arche, est décédé. In: arche-france.org. May 7, 2019, accessed May 7, 2019 (French).
↑ France: Investigation uncovered abuse by Ark founders - Vatican News. February 22, 2020, accessed March 2, 2020 .

personal data
SURNAME	Vanier, Jean
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Canadian activist for people with disabilities, founder of the Catholic organization and peace movement "L'Arche"
DATE OF BIRTH	September 10, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH	Geneva
DATE OF DEATH	May 7, 2019
Place of death	Paris