Jesus Caritas

Lourdes 12-15 sept 2008Pope Benedict prays the prayer of Br Charles at Lourdes during a meditation on the Eucharist.

Cardinal KasperAn interview with Cardinal Walter Kasper, on the mission of Brother Charles for today.

Joseph Ratzinger Cardinal of Munich

On the occasion of his 25th anniversary to the priesthood, in 1976, the future Pope Benedict, then Cardinal of Munich, wrote to his fellow priests about the importance of a renewed understanding of the ‘30 years’ that Jesus spent in Nazareth.

Our worldwide Church can neither grow or prosper if we allow it to ignore that its very roots lie hidden in the atmosphere of Nazareth.

Pope Benedict

'Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Let us give thanks for the witness borne by Charles de Foucauld. In his contemplative and hidden life in Nazareth, he discovered the truth about the humanity of Jesus and invites us to contemplate the mystery of the Incarnation; in this place he learned much about the Lord, whom he wanted to follow with humility and poverty.

He discovered that Jesus, who came to join us in our humanity, invites us to universal brotherhood, which he subsequently lived in the Sahara, and to love, of which Christ gave us the example.'

1985 with Pope John Paul

I truly have it in my heart to underline and really encourage certain essential aspects of your religious life. In your Constitutions your religious consecration is defined as an existence lived out in ordinary life, following the example of Brother Charles who was himself overwhelmed by the mystery of Bethlehem and Nazareth.

Ghardaia - Sahara
Beatification and Canonization
of the Servant of God
CHARLES DE FOUCAULD
(Little Brother Charles of Jesus)
DIOCESAN PRIEST