Jean Vanier was a Canadian Catholic philosopher and theologian.
25 Facts About Jean Vanier
2.
Jean Vanier continued to live as a member of the original L'Arche community in Trosly-Breuil, France, until his death.
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Jean Vanier was born in Geneva, and was the fourth of five siblings, in his youth Vanier received a broad education in English and French, first in Canada and then in France and England.
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Jean Vanier spent much of the war at an English naval academy.
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In early 1945, Jean Vanier was visiting Paris, where his father was Canadian ambassador; he and his mother went to assist survivors of Nazi concentration camps.
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Jean Vanier served in World War II with the Royal Navy and then with the Royal Canadian Navy.
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In 1947, as a midshipman, Jean Vanier accompanied the Royal Family on their tour of South Africa aboard HMS Vanguard.
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Jean Vanier eventually went on to complete a PhD in philosophy from the Institut Catholique de Paris, with a doctoral thesis on Aristotle which was published in 1966 as Happiness as Principle and End of Aristotelian Ethics; this was his first published work.
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Jean Vanier went on to write over 30 books during his career and taught philosophy at the University of St Michael's College, University of Toronto.
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Jean Vanier left academia in 1964, seeking a more spiritual ministry.
11.
Jean Vanier invited two men, Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux, to leave the institutions where they resided and live with him in Trosly-Breuil, France.
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Until the late 1990s, Jean Vanier carried the responsibility for L'Arche in Trosly-Breuil in France, and for the International Federation of L'Arche.
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Jean Vanier then stepped down to spend more time counselling, encouraging, and accompanying the people who come to live in L'Arche as assistants to those with disabilities.
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Jean Vanier established 147 L'Arche communities in 37 countries around the world which have become places of pilgrimage for those involved.
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In 1968, Jean Vanier gave a Faith and Sharing retreat in Mary Lake, Ontario, the first in his movement of retreats where people from many walks of life are welcome.
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In 1971, Jean Vanier co-founded Faith and Light with Marie-Helene Mathieu.
17.
Jean Vanier continued to live in the original L'Arche community of Trosly-Breuil, France, until his death in 2019.
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Jean Vanier continued to travel widely, visiting other L'Arche communities, encouraging projects for new communities and giving lectures and retreats.
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Jean Vanier was the 1998 Massey lecturer, focusing on the theme of "Becoming Human".
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In 2017, Jean Vanier narrated and appeared in the documentary Summer In The Forest, filmed in the L'Arche communities in Trosly-Breuil and Bethlehem and featuring many of the residents of both communities with whom he worked.
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The most common pattern described is one where Jean Vanier would kneel down in front of the woman with his head against her chest and then make contact with her breasts, and, if permitted, would caress the breasts with his mouth.
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Jean Vanier described Philippe, who died in 1993, as his "spiritual father", but at first publicly denied knowledge of the practices.
23.
Jean Vanier received numerous awards for his work, including the Companion of the Order of Canada, Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour and many awards from faith groups, among them the Paul VI International Prize, the Community of Christ International Peace Award, the Rabbi Gunther Plaut Humanitarian Award, and the Gaudium et Spes Award, named after the Second Vatican Council's Gaudium et spes document.
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In March 2015, Jean Vanier was awarded the $1.7 million Templeton Prize in recognition of his advocacy for people with disabilities and his contributions to a broader exploration of helping the weak and vulnerable.
25.
On September 27,2016, Jean Vanier received the Peace Abbey Foundation International Courage of Conscience Award in Trosly-Breuil, France, for his lifelong commitment to building a world of inclusion for individuals with disabilities.