Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier, CC, GOQ ( born September 10, 1928) is the founder of the Ark (L' Arche ), an international ecumenical organization that is based communities in which people live with and without intellectual disabilities in a Christian manner. At the same time he has established in 1971 with Marie -Hélène Mathieu also the worldwide movement Faith and Light. These groups bring together people with disabilities, their families and friends regularly to exchange, prayer and celebration.

Life

Jean Vanier grew up in Canada and England. When he was 15 years old, he joined the Navy. Most recently, he served on the aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent. In 1950 he took leave from the Navy to live in a community in Paris. Vanier began a theology and philosophy studies. After finishing the Ph.D. ( doctorate thesis on Aristotle ), he taught at the University of Toronto.

In 1964 Vanier two mentally disabled men ( Raphael and Philippe ) in a cottage in Trosly - Breuil, a French village near Compiègne, the first building of the ark on. He discovered " the depth of their suffering and their cry for truthful relationship, but also their joy of fellowship with men" ( quote Vanier ). He wanted to help them and suddenly realized how they helped him.

In Germany there are still three Arche communities in Tecklenburg, Ravensburg and Landsberg am Lech. There are over 135 hierarchs in 30 countries on all five continents.

Literature on Jean Vanier

  • Kathryn Spink: Jean Vanier and the ark. The story of an extraordinary appeal. The biography on his 80th birthday. Neufeld Verlag, black box, 2008, ISBN 978-3-937896-66-3.

Literature by Jean Vanier

  • Living in the Community. My experience Herder Verlag, Freiburg im Breisgau; Basel; Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-451-23244-8
  • Wide heart. The mystery of love on the track. Neufeld Verlag, black box, 2010, ISBN 978-3-937896-92-2.
  • Of the wounds of the heart. Guide through periods of depression. Neufeld Verlag, Black box 2011. ISBN 978-3-86256-015-8
  • Fairly vulnerable, quite strong: towards a more cohesive society. ( With Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and Laurent de Cherisey ) Hanser, Berlin, 2012. ISBN 978-3446241558
  • I and Thou: the other face as a man. Neufeld Verlag, Black box 2013. ISBN 978-3-86256-036-3
Trosly-Breuil Integrated Authority File
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