Saddened but rejoicing.

Fr Luke Penkett pays tribute to the late spiritual great, Jean Vanier ...

‘They will see the Lord face to face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. It will never be night again and they will not need lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God will be shining on them. They will reign for ever and ever.’ Revelation 22: 4-5

We were saddened to learn that Jean Vanier passed away on Tuesday, 7^th May, 2019. Regardless of receiving numerous accolades, including the Templeton Prize in 2015, Jean remained a profoundly humble and generous hearted man throughout his ninety years. 

Founding L’Arche – the ‘Ark’ – in 1964, an international federation of communities of people with and without learning disabilities, Jean lived out his aim in life – ‘to follow Jesus’ – and he did this with great compassion, inviting and enabling us to be challenged and to deepen our spiritual lives and offering us all a fuller appreciation of all that people on the margins of society can do for each one of us.  

Jean once said, “We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love,” and his extraordinary love has borne such seemingly incredible fruit. There are now about 150 L'Arche communities in over thirty countries, and another 1,800 Faith and Light support groups, founded in 1971 for people with special needs, their families, and friends, in a further eighty.

With some friends from one of the English communities I visited Jean at La Ferme, the headquarters of L’Arche in the little village of Trosly-Breuil, Picardy, a few years ago. Here he continued to live quietly and peacefully until a few weeks before his death and we were all  deeply moved simply by his presence alone. He was truly imbued with God’s spirit.

Saddened but rejoicing. At the same time as mourning our loss, Darton, Longman and Todd rightly feel proud to have been given the opportunity of publishing several of Jean’s own books in addition to many others including one of my own –Touched by God’s Spirit – that were inspired by his spirituality, wisdom and humanity. Jean’s physical body may no longer be seen but we may be certain his spirit will live on through his writings, his work, and his unconditional love, an example to us all of a Christ-like life lived out in all its fullness, and we rejoice that he now sees the Lord face to face.

Fr Luke Penkett, ordained and professing his life vows in the Celtic Orthodox church, was founding chair of the Henri Nouwen Society UK. He now lives in Norwich, where he is Librarian and Archivist at the Julian Centre, and is much in demand as a retreat conductor, researcher and reviewer. His previous publications include books on Augustine of Hippo, the Desert Fathers, and translations from Medieval Greek.