FrenchCatholic PriestHumanitarianResistance Fighter

Abbé Pierre

Abbé Pierre was a prominent French Catholic priest, Resistance fighter, and founder of the Emmaus movement, known for his social justice advocacy, whose legacy is marked by popularity and controversies.

1. Early Life and Background

Abbé Pierre's early life was marked by a privileged upbringing and a profound spiritual calling that would shape his future dedication to humanitarian work.

1.1. Childhood and Education

Henri Marie Joseph Grouès was born on August 5, 1912, in Lyon, France, into a wealthy Catholic family involved in the silk trade. He was the fifth of eight children and spent his childhood in Irigny, a town near Lyon. At the age of twelve, he encountered François Chabbey and, accompanied by his father, visited a brotherhood known as the "Hospitaliers veilleurs." This group, primarily composed of middle-class members, served the poor by offering services such as barbering, which exposed Grouès to the concept of charitable work from a young age. He was also an active member of the Scouts de France, where he earned the nickname "Meditative Beaver" (Castor méditatifFrench).

1.2. Religious Life and Ordination

In 1928, at the age of 16, Grouès decided to join a monastic order, an ambition he fulfilled in 1931 when he entered the Capuchin Order. Upon entering, he renounced his inheritance, dedicating all his possessions to charity. Known as frère Philippe (Brother Philippe), he lived for seven years at the monastery of Crest, beginning in 1932. He was ordained a priest on August 24, 1938. However, due to severe lung infections, he had to leave the monastic life in 1939. He then served as a chaplain to the sick in various locations before being appointed curate of Grenoble's cathedral in April 1939, just months before the invasion of Poland. On the day of his priestly ordination, the theologian Henri de Lubac reportedly told him, "Ask the Holy Spirit to grant you the same anti-clericalism of the saints."

2. World War II and Resistance Activities

During World War II, Abbé Pierre played a crucial role in the French Resistance, demonstrating immense courage and compassion in aiding those persecuted by the Nazi regime.

2.1. Military Service and Resistance

When World War II began in 1939, Henri Grouès was mobilized as a non-commissioned officer in the train transport corps. It was during his involvement with the French Resistance that he adopted the pseudonym "Abbé Pierre," one of several names he used while operating clandestinely. Based in Grenoble, a vital center for the Resistance, he became one of the local leaders in the Vercors Plateau and Chartreuse Mountains, participating in the establishment of maquis sections. He also founded the clandestine newspaper L'Union patriotique indépendante. In 1944, he was arrested twice by Nazi police, including once in Cambo-les-Bains in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. He was quickly released and managed to escape to Spain, then to Gibraltar, before joining the Free French Forces of General Charles de Gaulle in Algeria. In Free North Africa, he served as a chaplain in the French Navy on the battleship Jean Bart in Casablanca. His wartime activities cemented his status as an important symbol of the French Resistance. After the war, he was awarded the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with bronze palms and the Médaille de la Résistance.

2.2. Aid to Persecuted Groups

Abbé Pierre dedicated himself to helping Jewish people and others escape Nazi persecution. Following the mass arrests of Jews in Paris in July 1942, known as the Rafle du Vel' d'Hiv, and another raid in the Grenoble area, he actively sought ways to assist those fleeing. He learned to forge passports and, starting in August 1942, guided Jewish individuals to safety in Switzerland. In 1942, he also facilitated the escape of Jacques de Gaulle, the brother of General Charles de Gaulle, and his wife to Switzerland. He established the first refuge in Grenoble for those resisting the Service du travail obligatoire (STO), the Nazi forced-labor program. During 1943, he was given shelter by Lucie Coutaz, a fellow Resistance member who would later become his secretary and a crucial assistant in his humanitarian work until her death in 1982. The curator of the Deportation and Resistance Museum of the Isère department, where Grouès conducted most of his resistance activities, stated that Abbé Pierre would have deserved to be named Righteous Among the Nations ten times over for his efforts to help Jews during Vichy France.

3. Political Career

After the war, Abbé Pierre transitioned into a political career, serving in the French National Assembly before ultimately deciding to dedicate himself fully to humanitarian work.

3.1. Election and Parliamentary Service

Following the end of World War II, and with the advice of de Gaulle's inner circle and the approval of the archbishop of Paris, Abbé Pierre was elected as a deputy for the Meurthe-et-Moselle department. He served in both National Constituent Assemblies from 1945 to 1946 as an independent, closely aligned with the Popular Republican Movement (MRP), which primarily consisted of Christian democratic members of the Resistance. In 1946, he was re-elected to the National Assembly as a formal member of the MRP. During this period, in 1947, he became vice-president of the World Federalist Movement, a universal federalist organization. He also joined Albert Camus and André Gide in supporting Garry Davis's World Citizen Movement, which advocated against nationalism. He engaged with prominent thinkers like the Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the Russian existentialist philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev, and met with Albert Einstein to discuss nuclear disarmament. Despite his efforts, his opposition to France's involvement in the First Indochina War was not adopted by his party.

3.2. Political Stances and Resignation

Abbé Pierre's political affiliations were not without their challenges. After a violent incident in Brest in 1950, which resulted in the death of a blue-collar worker named Édouard Mazé, Henri Antoine Grouès decided to end his affiliation with the MRP. On April 28, 1950, he penned a letter titled "Pourquoi je quitte le MRP" (Why I'm leaving the MRPFrench), in which he openly criticized the political and social stance of the MRP party. He then joined the Christian socialist movement known as Ligue de la jeune République, which had been founded in 1912 by Marc Sangnier. However, he ultimately decided to conclude his political career. In 1951, before the end of his mandate, he returned to his primary vocation: helping the homeless. Using the modest funds he had received as a deputy, he invested in a dilapidated house near Paris in the Neuilly-Plaisance neighborhood, which he personally repaired. This property became the first Emmaus base, as he considered it too large for a single person. Although he left representative politics, choosing to invest his energies in the Emmaus charity movement, he never entirely abandoned the political field, taking strong stances on various subjects throughout his life.

4. Major Activities and Achievements

Abbé Pierre's life was largely defined by his groundbreaking humanitarian work, most notably the founding and global expansion of the Emmaus movement, alongside his broader engagement in social and international advocacy.

4.1. The Emmaus Movement

The Emmaus movement stands as Abbé Pierre's most enduring legacy, a testament to his dedication to alleviating poverty and homelessness through self-sufficiency and solidarity.

4.1.1. Origin and Early Development

The Emmaus movement, known as Emmaüs in French, was founded by Abbé Pierre in 1949. Its name is a reference to a village in Palestine mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, where two disciples offered hospitality to Jesus after his resurrection, without initially recognizing him. This biblical story inspired Emmaus's mission to provide aid to poor, homeless, and refugee individuals. It operates as a secular organization. In 1950, the first community of Emmaus companions was established in Neuilly-Plaisance, near Paris, France. These communities raise funds for the construction of housing by collecting, recycling, and selling used goods. Abbé Pierre famously described Emmaus as being "a little like the wheelbarrow, the shovels and the pickaxes coming before the banners. A sort of social fuel derived from salvaging defeating men." Facing initial difficulties in fundraising, Abbé Pierre famously participated in the Radio Luxembourg game show Quitte ou double (Double or NothingFrench) in 1952, winning 256.00 K FRF in prize money to support his nascent organization.

4.1.2. The Winter 1954 Appeal

Abbé Pierre rose to national prominence during the exceptionally cold winter of 1954 in France, when numerous homeless people tragically died on the streets. Following the failure of a proposed law on lodgings, he delivered a powerful and widely remembered radio address on Radio Luxembourg on February 1, 1954. He also requested that Le Figaro, a conservative newspaper, publish his appeal. In his poignant speech, he soberly stated 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 vividly described the plight of the homeless, asserting that in "every town in France, in every quarter of Paris" there was a need for ministries based on the simple words: "If you suffer, whoever you are, enter, eat, sleep, recover hope, here you are loved." The next morning, the press hailed his initiative as an "uprising of kindness" (insurrection de la bontéFrench). This now-famous call for help generated an overwhelming response, raising 500.00 M FRF in donations, including 2.00 M FRF from Charlie Chaplin. The sheer volume of donations overwhelmed telephone operators and the postal service, requiring several weeks just to sort, distribute, and store the contributions across the country. The appeal also attracted volunteers from all over France, including wealthy bourgeoises who were deeply moved by Abbé Pierre's message. To manage this outpouring of support, Grouès quickly organized his movement by formally establishing the Emmaus communities on March 23, 1954. Weeks later, the French National Assembly approved a budget of 10.00 B FRF to construct 12,000 low-cost apartments for the poor, and a law was passed prohibiting winter evictions.

Abbé Pierre (1955)
Abbé Pierre (1955)

4.1.3. International Expansion

The story of the Emmaus community and its mission gained further global recognition through Boris Simon's book, Abbé Pierre and the Ragpickers of Emmaus. In 1955, Abbé Pierre presented an English translation of this book to President Eisenhower in the Oval Office, helping to spread awareness of the movement. The Emmaus communities rapidly expanded worldwide. In 1959, Grouès traveled to Beyrouth (Beirut, Lebanon) to assist in the establishment of the first multi-confessional Emmaus group, which was notably founded by a Sunni (Muslim), a Melkite (Catholic) archbishop, and a Maronite (Christian) writer, demonstrating the movement's inclusive spirit. Later, in 1971, he was invited to India by Jayaprakash Narayan and Indira Gandhi to address the pressing issue of Bengali refugees, leading to the founding of Emmaus communities in Bangladesh.

4.2. Social Movements and International Activities

Beyond the Emmaus movement, Abbé Pierre was a vocal and active participant in various social and international causes, consistently advocating for human rights and peace.

4.2.1. Advocacy for the Poor and Homeless

Abbé Pierre remained a steadfast advocate for the poor and homeless throughout his life. After the 1981 election of President François Mitterrand of the Socialist Party (PS), Abbé Pierre supported the initiative of French Premier Laurent Fabius (PS) to create the Revenu minimum d'insertion (RMI) in 1984, a welfare system for indigent people. In the same year, he organized the "Charity Christmas" operation, which, relayed by France Soir, raised 6.00 M FRF and 200 t of products. The actor Coluche, who had organized the charitable Restos du Cœur (Restaurants of the HeartFrench), offered him 150.00 M FRF cents received by his organization. Coluche's immense success with the Restos du Cœur, fueled by his popularity, further convinced Abbé Pierre of the necessity and value of such charitable struggles and the utility of media in these endeavors. He consistently supported illegal aliens and assisted the homeless through movements like "Enfants de Don Quichotte" (late 2006-early 2007). He also supported social movements advocating for the requisitioning of empty buildings and offices for housing. In 2005, he notably opposed conservative deputies who sought to reform the loi SRU (SRU lawFrench) on housing projects, which would have imposed a 20% housing project limit in each town.

4.2.2. Stances on Global Issues

Abbé Pierre's engagement extended to critical global issues. In 1956, he attempted to persuade Tunisian leader Habib Bourguiba to achieve independence without violence. He participated in various international conferences in the late 1950s, where he met Colombian priest Camilo Torres, a predecessor of Liberation theology, who sought his advice on the Colombian Church's criticism of "workers' priests." He was received by US President Eisenhower in 1955 and Mohammed V of Morocco in 1956. In 1962, he resided for several months in Charles de Foucauld's retreat in Béni-Abbés (Algeria).

In 1971, he was called to India by Jayaprakash Narayan to represent France, along with the Ligue des droits de l'homme (Human Rights LeagueFrench), on refugee issues. Indira Gandhi then invited him to address the question of Bengali refugees, leading to Grouès founding Emmaus communities in Bangladesh. In 1983, he spoke with Italian President Sandro Pertini to plead the cause of Vanni Mulinaris, who was imprisoned on charges of assistance to the Red Brigades (BR). He even observed an eight-day hunger strike from May 26 to June 3, 1984, in the Cathedral of Turin to protest against the detention conditions of "Brigadists" in Italian prisons and the imprisonment without trial of Vanni Mulinaris, who was later acquitted. According to the Corriere della Sera, he may have convinced then-President François Mitterrand to grant protection from extradition to left-wing Italian activists who had taken refuge in France and broken with their past. In 2005, he supported one of his physicians, Michele d'Auria, a former member of Prima Linea, an Italian far-left group, who was accused of participating in hold-ups in 1990. Like many other Italian activists, d'Auria had exiled himself to France during the "years of lead" and later joined the Emmaus companions. Italian justice eventually recognized the innocence of all individuals associated with the Hyperion School. Following Grouès' death in January 2007, Italian magistrate Carlo Mastelloni stated to the Corriere della Sera that during the abduction of Aldo Moro, Abbé Pierre had gone to the Christian Democrats' headquarters in Rome to advocate for a "hard line" of refusal of negotiations with the BR.

In 1988, Abbé Pierre met with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss the difficult financial, monetary, and human issues posed by the huge Third World debt, which began in 1982 when Mexico announced it could not service 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 traveled there to urge nations worldwide to end the violence and requested French military intervention against Serb positions in Bosnia. During the Gulf War (1990-91), Abbé Pierre directly addressed US President George H. W. Bush and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He asked French President François Mitterrand to engage in matters concerning refugees, particularly by creating a stronger organization than the then-current UN High Commissioner for Refugees (HCR). In the same year, he met the Dalai Lama during inter-religious peace encounters. A staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, he attracted attention with some of his statements on the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

5. Thoughts and Beliefs

Abbé Pierre's philosophical and religious ideas were deeply rooted in his commitment to social justice, often leading him to challenge established norms within the Catholic Church.

5.1. Stance on Church and Social Issues

Abbé Pierre's positions concerning the Church and the Vatican often generated controversy. His views on social issues and engagements were at times explicitly socialist and appeared to oppose certain Church policies. He maintained a relationship with the progressive French Catholic Bishop Jacques Gaillot, to whom he reportedly advised an "instinct of a measured insolence." He held a critical view of Mother Teresa, believing that despite her work for the poor, her strict adherence to Catholic moral teaching did not align with his more left-wing ideology. He experienced difficult relations with the Vatican; L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, did not immediately report his death in 2007, and Pope Benedict XVI was criticized for not making an exception to the custom of not offering condolences for individual priests, although official reactions from the Church later came through interviews with French cardinals Roger Etchegaray and Paul Poupard. His criticisms of what he considered the lavish lifestyle of the Vatican, particularly his reproaches of John Paul II for his expensive travels, garnered significant public attention but were not well received by the public. Despite this, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone lauded his "action in favor of poor," stating that 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."

His support for the ordination of women and for married clergy put him at odds with traditional Catholic teaching, Church leaders, and a substantial portion of French Catholics. These progressive stances, however, made him popular among the declining number of left-wing Catholics in France. In his 2005 book Mon Dieu... pourquoi? (God... Why?French), co-written with Frédéric Lenoir, he admitted to breaking his solemn promise of celibacy by having had casual sex with women. Despite strong grassroots opposition to adoption by same-sex couples, Abbé Pierre dismissed concerns that it deprives children of a mother or father or turns them into objects. He also opposed the traditional Catholic policy on contraceptives.

5.2. Views on Social Justice and Peace

Abbé Pierre's life was a testament to his unwavering commitment to fighting injustice and promoting peace. He was a signatory to the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a world constitution, which led to the first-ever World Constituent Assembly to draft and adopt a Constitution for the Federation of Earth. This demonstrates his belief in global solidarity and systemic change to address humanitarian challenges.

6. Personal Life

In his 2005 book Mon Dieu... pourquoi? (God... Why?French), Abbé Pierre made a personal confession, admitting that he had broken his solemn promise of celibacy by engaging in casual sexual relationships with women. This revelation, published in a book co-written with Frédéric Lenoir, caused a stir in France and highlighted his complex relationship with traditional Catholic vows.

7. Death

Abbé Pierre remained actively engaged in social struggles until his final days. He passed away on January 22, 2007, at the Val-de-Grâce military hospital in Paris, at the age of 94, following a lung infection. In January 2007, shortly before his death, he visited the National Assembly to lobby for a law on lodging homeless people. Following his passing, the Minister of Social Cohesion Jean-Louis Borloo decided to name the law after Abbé Pierre, despite the latter's skepticism about the law's true value. In 2005, he had also opposed conservative deputies who sought to reform the loi SRU (SRU lawFrench) on housing projects, which would have imposed a 20% housing project limit in each town.

After dignitaries paid their respects, hundreds of ordinary Parisians, including professor Albert Jacquard, who collaborated with Abbé Pierre on homelessness causes, visited the Val-de-Grâce chapel to offer their condolences. His funeral, held on January 26, 2007, at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, was attended by numerous dignitaries, including President Jacques Chirac, former President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, and many French ministers. In accordance with Abbé Pierre's last wishes, the Companions of Emmaus were seated in the cathedral's front rows. He was buried in a cemetery in Esteville, a small village in Seine-Maritime where he had lived for many years.

8. Evaluation and Impact

Abbé Pierre's legacy is multifaceted, marked by both widespread admiration for his humanitarian contributions and significant controversies that have shaped his public image.

8.1. Positive Evaluation

Abbé Pierre was consistently recognized as one of France's most popular figures for many years. He held the top spot in popularity polls for 17 consecutive years, from 1989 to 2003, before being surpassed by footballer Zinedine Zidane in 2003, moving to second place. In 2005, he ranked third in a television poll to choose Le Plus Grand Français (The Greatest FrenchmanFrench). His unwavering dedication to helping the poor and homeless earned him immense respect and affection. Following his death, President Jacques Chirac stated that "Abbé Pierre continued the fight against poverty, suffering, and injustice, showing people the strength of solidarity," encapsulating the widespread recognition of his profound positive impact on French society and beyond.

8.2. Criticism and Controversy

Despite his revered status, Abbé Pierre faced significant criticism and controversy throughout his life. A major controversy arose in 1996 when he offered "friendly support" (à titre amicalFrench) to Roger Garaudy, a philosopher who was accused of negationism for denying the Holocaust in his book The Foundational Myths of Israeli Politics. The "Garaudy Affair" was revealed by the satirical newspaper Canard enchaîné in January 1996, leading to widespread denunciations. Garaudy was eventually convicted in 1998 under the 1990 Gayssot Act. Public indignation grew when Garaudy announced in March that he was supported by Abbé Pierre, leading to Abbé Pierre's immediate exclusion from the honor committee of the LICRA (International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism). While Abbé Pierre condemned those who tried to "negate, banalize or falsify the Shoah," his continued support for Garaudy as a friend was criticized by all anti-racist and Jewish organizations, including MRAP, CRIF, and the Anti-Defamation League, as well as the Church hierarchy. His friend Bernard Kouchner, co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), criticized him for "absolving the intolerable," and Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger publicly disavowed him. Following this intense criticism, Abbé Pierre retreated to the Benedictine monastery of Praglia near Padua, Italy. In the documentary Un abbé nommé Pierre, une vie au service des autres, Abbé Pierre stated that his support was directed toward Roger Garaudy as a person, and not toward the statements in his book, which he claimed he had not read. This controversial support led to a period where Abbé Pierre was shunned by the media, although he remained a popular figure among the public.

8.3. Sexual Abuse Allegations

In recent years, Abbé Pierre's legacy has been significantly impacted by allegations of sexual abuse and harassment. In July 2024, the Fondation Abbé Pierre and Emmaus issued a statement regarding the results of an investigation they had commissioned after reports of abuse by Pierre came to light. An independent research group reported that seven women, one of whom was a minor at the time of the abuse, provided testimony about the abuse they suffered at the hands of the French priest between the late 1970s and 2005. In September 2024, a second report commissioned by the Fondation revealed that Abbé Pierre sexually harassed or assaulted at least two dozen women. An 8 to 9-year-old child was also allegedly abused. The reported abuse occurred in both France and the United States. These revelations led to significant actions: the Abbé Pierre Foundation was retitled, and Emmaus France voted on removing the priest's name from its logo. The Abbé Pierre Centre in Esteville, Normandy, where he lived for many years and is buried, was slated for closure, and discussions began regarding the disposal of hundreds of statuettes, busts, and other images of the charity's founder. Evidence also suggested that colleagues within Emmaus and the Catholic Church were aware of Abbé Pierre's sexual behavior but did not speak out. On January 14, 2025, the Bishops' Conference of France took legal action following nine new accusations of sexual violence, requesting the opening of an investigation.

9. Awards and Honors

Abbé Pierre received numerous significant honors and awards throughout his life, recognizing his profound humanitarian and social contributions.

  • France:
    • Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor (2004)
    • Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honor (1992, accepted in 2001 as a protest against the French government's refusal to provide vacant lodgings to homeless people)
    • Commander of the Order of the Legion of Honor (1987)
    • Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honor (1981)
    • Recipient of the Médaille militaire
    • Recipient of the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with bronze palms
    • Recipient of the Médaille de la Résistance
  • Quebec:
    • Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (1998)
  • International:
    • Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood among Peoples (1991), awarded "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."
    • Gold Medal of the Goethe Foundation in Basel, Switzerland (1975)

10. Works and Media

Abbé Pierre was a prolific author and speaker, with his works and appearances contributing to his widespread influence and the dissemination of his message.

10.1. Bibliography

Abbé Pierre authored many books and articles, with all profits from his author's rights (books, discs, and videos) benefiting the Fondation Abbé Pierre, which supports homeless and hungry people. Many of his publications have been translated into English. His notable works include:

  • 1987: Bernard Chevallier interroge l'abbé Pierre: Emmaüs ou venger l'homme, with Bernard Chevalier
  • 1988: Cent poèmes contre la misère
  • 1993: Dieu et les hommes, with Bernard Kouchner
  • 1994: Testament... (reissued 2005)
  • 1994: Une terre et des hommes
  • 1994: Absolu
  • 1996: Dieu merci
  • 1996: Le bal des exclus
  • 1997: Mémoires d'un croyant
  • 1999: Fraternité
  • 1999: Paroles
  • 1999: C'est quoi la mort? (a didactic book for children, also used in French language learning)
  • 1999: J'attendrai le plaisir du Bon Dieu: l'intégrale des entretiens d'Edmond Blattchen
  • 2000: En route vers l'absolu
  • 2001: La Planète des pauvres. Le tour du monde à vélo des communautés Emmaüs, with Louis Harenger, Michel Friedman, and Emmaus International
  • 2002: Confessions
  • 2002: Je voulais être marin, missionnaire ou brigand, with Denis Lefèvre (reissued in paperback)
  • 2004: L'Abbé Pierre, la construction d'une légende, by Philippe Falcone
  • 2004: L'Abbé Pierre parle aux jeunes, with Pierre-Roland Saint-Dizier
  • 2004: Pour un monde de justice et de paix: Entretiens, with Pedro Opeka
  • 2004: L'Abbé Pierre, by Bernard Violet (biography updated in 2007 with his full 114-page testament)
  • 2005: Le sourire d'un ange
  • 2005: Mon Dieu... pourquoi? Petites méditations sur la foi chrétienne et le sens de la vie, with Frédéric Lenoir (addresses topics like priestly celibacy, women's ordination, religious fanaticism, desire, sex, and same-sex marriage)
  • 2006: Servir: Paroles de vie, with Albine Navarino
  • 2006: L'abbé Pierre: Entretien et portrait, by Ariane Laroux
  • 2007: Clandestin, 1942 - 1944 (reprints a conference given by Abbé Pierre on April 23, 1945)
  • 2012: Abbé Pierre, Inédits. Textes de combat, écrits intimes, correspondances

10.2. Discography

Abbé Pierre's recorded works include spoken word albums and reflections on various topics, reflecting his spiritual and social insights.

  • 2001: Radioscopie: Abbé Pierre - Entretien avec Jacques Chancel (Audio CD)
  • 1988-2003: Éclats De Voix, a series of Audio CDs, Poems and reflections, in 4 volumes:
    • Vol. 1: Le Temps des Catacombes
    • Vol. 2: Hors de Soi
    • Vol. 3: Corsaire de Dieu
    • Vol. 4: ?
  • 2005: Testament... (CD, to celebrate the 56th anniversary of the Emmaus Foundation; includes personal reflections, texts, and words inspired by the Bible)
  • 2005: Avant de partir... (audio testament, CD and videos for PC; includes prayers and meditation music)
  • 2006: L'Insurgé de l'amour
  • 2006: Paroles de Paix de l'Abbé Pierre (Audio CD)

10.3. Filmography

Abbé Pierre's life and work have been the subject of, or featured in, several films and documentaries.

  • 1955: Les Chiffonniers d'Emmaüs (The Ragpickers of EmmausFrench), directed by Robert Darène, starring Pierre Mondy.
  • 1989: Hiver 54, l'abbé Pierre (Winter 54, Abbé PierreFrench), directed by Denis Amar, starring Lambert Wilson and Claudia Cardinale. This film depicts his activities and struggles against poverty with the Emmaus communities.
  • 2023: Abbé Pierre - A Century of Devotion, directed by Frédéric Tellier, starring Benjamin Lavernhe and Emmanuelle Bercot.