Today, December 1, is the memorial of Blessed Charles de Foucauld.
Charles inherited a considerable amount of fortune when his grandfather died. He left the army and used his money for extreme indulgence in sexual pleasures and alcohol. His cousin Mary, who lived nearby, was a model of Christianity. She inspired him so much that he had an inner conversion. He started this by becoming a Trappist monk.
Years later, he went to the Holy Land. He supported himself by working at a convent, but otherwise he led a quiet life of prayer. The mother superior of the nuns suggested that Charles could best serve God by becoming a priest. He returned to France and was ordained in 1901.
He moved to Algiers to become a hermit in the desert, counting himself with “the furthest removed, the most abandoned.” He wanted all who drew close to him to find in him a brother, “a universal brother.” His dream was to found two religious orders—the Little Brothers and the Little Sisters who would live their lives imitating Christ. This dream did not become a reality until after Charles’ death.
Charles built a hermitage, a private house devoted to prayer, in a village in the Sahara. He wore a white robe and was very hospitable to all. He did not try to convert the local people, choosing instead to be an example of Jesus for all. The people called him “the holy man.”
He kept his friendship with his soldier-friends, letting them keep their weapons in his place. Because of this, tribal leaders thought he was a spy. One of them ended up shooting Charles in the head, killing him instantly in 1916.
He was beatified in 2005 in Rome by Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins. Pope Francis will canonize Blessed Charles on May 15, 2022.