About
Charles de Foucauld, born in Strasbourg in 1858, orphaned at six, was raised by his grandfather. After the Saint-Cyr military academy, he served as an officer in Algeria. In 1883-1884, he explored Morocco disguised as a Jewish traveler, a work rewarded with the gold medal of the Société de Géographie de Paris. His religious conversion in 1886 led him to the Trappists, then to the priesthood in 1901. He then settled among the Tuareg of the Hoggar, in the Algerian Sahara, where he lived as a hermit and compiled a monumental Tuareg-French dictionary. He was killed in 1916. Beatified in 2005, he was canonized in 2022.
* 1858-09-15 — † 1916-12-01
Major works
- Reconnaissance au Maroc (1888)geographical and ethnographic study
- Dictionnaire Touareg–Français (1951)dictionary
- Poésies Touarègues (1925)poetry collection
Key milestones
- 1885Awarded the gold medal of the Société de Géographie de Paris for his exploration of Morocco.
- 1901Ordained a Catholic priest in Viviers, France.
- 2022Canonized a saint by Pope Francis.
Themes
ExplorationSpirituality and eremitismLinguistics and ethnographyInterreligious dialogueLife in the Sahara
Sources: vatican.va · britannica.com · id.loc.gov