Saint Charles de Foucauld
Saint Charles de Foucauld (born September 15, 1858 AD in Strasbourg, France; died December 1, 1916 AD in Tamanrasset, Algeria) was a French nobleman, former army officer, and explorer who underwent a profound conversion and became a hermit in the Sahara Desert among the Tuareg people of Algeria. He compiled a Tuareg-French dictionary and grammar, translated the Gospels into Tuareg, and was shot dead at his hermitage in Tamanrasset in 1916. He was canonized by Pope Francis on May 15, 2022. His feast day is December 1.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Charles de Foucauld
| Saint Charles de Foucauld | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | December 01 |
| Profession | French cavalry officer; geographer and explorer (Morocco, 1883–1884); Trappist monk; ordained priest; hermit in the Algerian Sahara; linguist (Tuareg); spiritual founder of the Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Trappist Order (briefly); independent hermit in Sahara; spiritual family of Charles de Foucauld; Little Brothers of Jesus; Little Sisters of Jesus; inter-religious dialogue tradition |
| Patronage | France; Saharan peoples; the Tuareg; geographers and explorers; hermits; inter-religious dialogue; universal fraternity; missionaries among non-Christian peoples; those who seek God through solitude; Algeria |
| Attributes | Hermit's tunic with Sacred Heart and cross (his distinctive dress as a hermit); a camel (Saharan setting); Tuareg tent or hermitage; a dictionary or manuscript (his linguistic work); a heart (his spirituality of the Sacred Heart); desert landscape |
| Birthplace | Strasbourg, Alsace, France |
| Death Place | Tamanrasset, Hoggar, Algeria |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom; shot dead on December 1, 1916, in Tamanrasset in the Algerian Sahara; a group of Senussi raiders and local tribesmen attacked his hermitage during the turbulence of World War I; he was bound and guarded by a young tribesman; when a column of French camel soldiers approached in the distance, the tribesman panicked and shot him in the head; he was 58 years old; he had lived as a hermit in the Sahara for approximately 15 years; he was canonized by Pope Francis in 2022 |
| Primary Shrine | Tamanrasset, Algeria — his hermitage; December 1 feast; Saharan pilgrimage site; center of the Little Brothers and Sisters communities |
| Liturgical Class | Optional Memorial (Roman Rite); December 1; since canonization 2022 |
| Historic Class | Not in 1962 calendar (canonized 2022) |
Biography
Charles de Foucauld was born September 15, 1858, in Strasbourg, to a noble Alsatian family. Orphaned at 6, he was raised by his grandfather. He entered the military, lost his faith at 17, lived a dissolute life, and was nearly expelled from the military academy. He made a remarkable exploration of Morocco in 1883–1884, disguised as a rabbi, receiving the Gold Medal of the Paris Geographical Society.
In 1886 he walked into the Church of Saint-Augustin in Paris and made his confession to Abbé Huvelin — a total conversion. After years of prayer and discernment he entered the Trappists (1890), was released from vows (1897), went to Nazareth to live as a servant of the Poor Clares, was ordained priest in 1901, and went to Algeria.
He settled first at Beni Abbès (1901) and then at Tamanrasset in the Hoggar Mountains (1905) among the Tuareg people. He lived in extreme poverty, learned Tamahaq, compiled a 600-page dictionary and grammar, translated the Gospels, and sought simply to be present as a brother to all. He never made a single convert.
On December 1, 1916, Senussi raiders attacked his hermitage. He was shot and killed.
He was beatified 2005 by Benedict XVI and canonized May 15, 2022, by Pope Francis. The Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus, inspired by his vision, now number in the tens of thousands worldwide.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Strasbourg, Alsace, France
Death location: Tamanrasset, Hoggar, Algeria
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Known shrines
- Hermitage at Tamanrasset, Algeria — the site of his life and death; December 1 feast.
Feast day
December 1
Veneration
Saint Charles de Foucauld was a French nobleman-turned-Saharan hermit who lived among the Tuareg for 15 years, compiled their language, and was shot dead in Tamanrasset in 1916. His vision of "universal fraternity" inspired the Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus worldwide. Canonized 2022. Feast December 1.
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