Charles de Foucauld was a French soldier who turned from a wayward life to become a priest and hermit, living a hidden life like Jesus of Nazareth among the Tuareg people of the Sahara.
Life
Charles de Foucauld was born in 1858 in Strasbourg, France. Orphaned young and having lost his faith, he became a cavalry officer and lived a dissolute youth. Later, while exploring Morocco, he was deeply struck by the prayer of Muslim believers. After his conversion in Paris in 1886 he entered the Trappists, and he also lived for a time in Nazareth working for a community of nuns.
Ordained a priest in 1901, he went to the Algerian Sahara and settled at Beni Abbès and then Tamanrasset. He studied the Tuareg language, lived among the people as a neighbor, and prayed before the Lord present in the Eucharist. On 1 December 1916 he was attacked at his hermitage and killed. He was beatified in 2005 and canonized in 2022.
Spirituality
Charles de Foucauld’s spirituality is the hidden life of Nazareth and a universal brotherhood. He sought to proclaim the Gospel more by presence and friendship than by words, hoping to be a brother to everyone. Eucharistic adoration and a prayer of self-surrender to God sustained his life.
Reflection
Saint Charles became a quiet neighbor among people of another culture and faith. How can I be a warm brother or sister to the unfamiliar neighbors around me?