SW News: A French mystic, hermit and missionary who preached the Gospel among the Tuareg tribes in Algeria will be raised to the altars in May next year. Blessed Charles de Foucauld, who is considered to be one of the pioneers of inter-religious dialogue, will be canonized along with six others in St Peter’s Basilica on May 15, 2022, said the Vatican on Tuesday, November 9.

The writings and work of this mystic led to the foundation of five religious congregations, associations and spiritual institutes. Born in Strasbourg, France, on September 15, 1858, into a wealthy family, Charles lost his parents when he was just six. The young boy was raised by his devoutly Catholic grandfather. As a teenager, he led a dissolute life and strayed away from the faith. He enlisted in the French army after inheriting a great deal of money from his granddad.

Although he accompanied his regiment to Algeria, he broke the rules by bringing along his mistress. When he refused to renounce her, Charles was dismissed. Later, when they parted ways, he rejoined the army. When he turned 23, he resigned from the army in order to clandestinely survey neighboring Morocco disguised as a Jew. His year-long survey that was recorded in a book was well-received. During his journey, he encountered Muslims and Jews and that had a profound impact on his faith.

He began to have second thoughts about rediscovering Catholicism. In 1886, he returned to his home country and became a practising Catholic. He soon felt drawn to religious life and joined the Trappists in Ardeche in France. He was later transferred to one of their monasteries in Akbes in Syria. However, Charles felt God was calling him for a more austere life that he left the order in 1897 and went to Nazareth in the Holy Land where he worked as a gardener and sacristan for the Poor Clare nuns. In 1901, he went back to his homeland and received ordination.

That year itself, he travelled to Beni-Abbes in Morocco with the intention of establishing a monastic community to provide hospitality to Muslims, Christians, Jews and atheists. He led a cloistered existence, but no one joined him. It was while living there that a former army colleague invited him to reside among the Tuareg tribes in Algeria.

Soon, Charles learned their language and compiled the first French-Tuareg dictionary. He also translated the Gospel into that language. He set up base in Tamanrasset in 1905. Four years later, he went to France and founded an association of lay people who swore to live by the Gospel. He returned to Tamanrasset and was hailed by the local people. Instead of preaching to the Tuareg Muslims, he chose to evangelize by leading a life in accordance with the Gospel.

Following the outbreak of World War I, there were attacks on the French in Algeria and in a raid by a rival tribe, Fr Charles and two French soldiers who came to visit him were gunned down on December 1, 1916. His mystical writings and poems published posthumously led to the foundation of the Little Brothers of Jesus, Little Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Little Sisters of Jesus, Little Brothers of the Gospel, and Little Sisters of the Gospel. He was beatified on November 13, 2005.