Last night Abbè Pierre died, following lung infection. He was 94 years old, and he was the founder of Emmaus aid community. He had been hospitalized in Paris, at Val-de-Grace Hospital, last 15 January. The news was made known by Martin Hirsch, president of Compagnons d’Emmaus. As one of the greatest protagonists of French Catholicism in the twentieth century, Henri Antoine Groue’s (his full name) was born in Lyon. He joined Lyon Capuchins when he was 19 years old, after giving his inheritance to the poor. In 1938, he was ordained priest. In 1942, he became Abbè Pierre: he falsified passports and took several people wanted by Gestapo through the Alps and the Pyrenees. On his way back to France, he became Member of Parliament. In 1949 he started spreading his message: “The poor must donate to the poorest”. "The hearts of all France are moved", The French president, Jacques Chirac, declared in a note, when he heard about the death of the religious. "France lost a huge figure, a conscience, an incarnation of generosity. He will always represent the spirit of revolution against poverty, suffering and injustice".
