Jean Vanier

It's time for a Seraphic Single of the Week, and this time it's Jean Vanier.

Roman Catholic layman Jean Vanier has never married. Instead he has dedicated his life to living with people with intellectual disabilities in France. In fact, he is one of the founders of the original L'Arche community.

Canadians are very proud of Jean Vanier, whose father Georges was, in fact, a Canadian Governor General (the Queen's representative in Commonwealth country). He belongs to the Order of Canada and he is a respected philosopher, known as much for such works as Becoming Human as his work for L'Arche. Here is my review of one of his latest works, Living Gently in a Violent World.

Jean Vanier has always been a man of service and adventure. Born in 1928, he got permission from his father to go to the British Naval academy when he was 14, while the Second War still raged. Today he is fights for the dignity of people with Down Syndrome and other intellectual disabilities. Maybe dignity isn't even the right word. He fights for their right to life and love.