BECOMING PILGRIMS OF HOPE
SAINT CHARLES DE FOUCAULD

By Brother Patrick

Pope Francis (1936-2025) challenged us to open our hearts, our minds, and our arms to embrace all people from all places, especially those we find hard to love, especially those we find hard to understand. In a letter to Father James Martin, the Holy Father wrote: “God is close to us and loves each and every one of his children. His heart is open to all. He is our Father. God is Father and he does not disown any of his children. The style of God is mercy, compassion, and tenderness. Along this path, you will find God.”

Saint Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916) walked this path. I crossed paths with him for the first time when I read his words on a prayer card: “Read the Holy Gospel without ceasing, so as to always have before one’s mind the actions, words, and thoughts of Jesus in order to act, speak, and think like Jesus. I have lost my heart to this Jesus of Nazareth, crucified 1,900 years ago. I have spent my life trying to imitate him as my weakness allows.” These words beckon us to learn more about the life of a man who was a playboy, a soldier, a geographer, and an explorer. These words beckon us to pray more about the life of a man who then became a priest, a hermit, a missionary, and ultimately a martyr to the Gospel of Love.

Charles de Foucauld’s life journey was indirect, circuitous, and filled with ups and downs. He was a soldier called to peacemaking. He was a socialite called to gospel simplicity. He was a sinner called to be a saint. After his conversion, Charles de Foucauld became a Trappist monk. But after several years in a monastery, he left the order because he did not find their rigorous rule of life rigorous enough. So he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land where developed what would become a lifelong fascination with the hidden life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Nazareth. Brother Charles lived in a shed and served as a handyman for a convent of Poor Clares. During this experience, a spiritual director suggested that he seek ordination to the priesthood.

After Charles de Foucauld’s ordination, he retreated to the desert in order to live the Gospel and share its Good News with people who had no knowledge whatsoever of “this Jesus of Nazareth.” In Algeria, he learned the language of the local people. He shared their struggles. He became their friend and their brother despite countless cultural differences. He wrote: “I want all people here — Christians, Muslims, Jews, and non-believers — to look on me as their brother, the universal brother.” After fifteen years in the desert, Charles de Foucauld’s ministry of presence in prayer, solitude, and adoration could boast few accomplishments. No one joined in his fraternity. He baptized only than a handful of people. He guided the conversions of only a handful of people.

In 1916, Charles de Foucauld was shot by armed bandits. More than a century later, it remains unclear whether he was killed on purpose or by accident. Either way, he is venerated as a martyr because he gave his whole life as an offering of love and fraternity to Christ and to God’s children. He once said: “Be loving, be gentle, and be humble with all human beings.” During these troubled times, such words are challenging, inspiring, and heart wrenching.

Saint Charles de Foucauld was canonized on May 15, 2022. It was the Fifth Sunday of Easter. At Mass in Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Francis proclaimed these prophetic words from the Gospel of John (13:33-35). Jesus says: “My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” During his homily, the Holy Father then said: “The love that we receive from the Lord is the force that transforms our lives. It opens our hearts and enables us to love…As a result, we can make decisions and carry out works of love in every situation and for every brother and sister whom we meet, because we ourselves are loved and we have the power to love…The Christian life is just this simple.”

It is fitting that we should reflect on the commandment to love as we reflect on the life and legacy of Saint Charles de Foucauld. It is fitting that we should reflect on the commandment to love as we reflect on a life that was so focused on loving God and loving neighbor. It is fitting that we should reflect on the commandment to love as we reflect on a life that so closely imitated the hidden life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Before he died, Charles de Foucauld wrote: “My ordinary inclination is for solitude, stability, and silence. But if I believe, then I am called to something else. I obey. Love always obeys when it has God for its object…The love of God, the love of others, that is my whole life, that will be my whole life. When we can suffer and love, we can do much, the most that a person can do in this world.” May this be our hope. May this be our prayer. May this be our mission: to love Jesus, to love like Jesus, to love like the universal brother.

Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Saint Charles de Foucauld, pray for us! Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us! Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us! Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us! Pope Francis, pray for us!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brother Patrick Garvey is co-founder and spiritual director of the Assisi Project. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine, Saint John Seminary, and the Catholic University of America. He is a writer, spiritual director, retreat leader, and university lecturer. He also serves as an Associate Minister in the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport in Massachusetts. On October 3, 2023, the Feast of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi, Brother Patrick was consecrated as a diocesan hermit by Bishop Mark O’Connell, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Boston. For more information about the Assisi Project and our ministries with adults of all ages and backgrounds, please contact Brother Patrick at brpatrick@assisiproject.com.

Art Credit: Charles de Foucauld (Detail) by Jody Cole – jcoleicons.com

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ABOUT US

Founded in 2007, the Assisi Project is a Fellowship of Franciscans in Spirit with friends and followers throughout the world. We are dedicated to helping Christian believers of all ages more faithfully live the Gospel of Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi. We are also dedicated to promoting a devotion to Pope Francis (1936-2025) as a patron of peace, mercy, and fraternity in our sick and suffering world.

The Assisi Project is a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization. Please support our ministry via Pay Pal (see link below) or mail a tax-deductible donation to the Assisi Project, Post Office Box 3158, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01931-3158. The Assisi Project Podcast is produced by the Assisi Project, Inc. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. May the Lord give you peace!

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