On May 15, Pope Francis will name five new members to the community of saints.
One of them is Charles de Foucauld, the French priest who gave up a life of riches and women to become a Trappist monk, before moving to Algerian desert to live among the region's Muslim communities.
The Little Sisters of Jesus are one of the more than a dozen religious institutes inspired by his life and writings. And their generalate in Rome is home to a museum that tells the story of Brother Charles and provides fascinating insights into the details of his life.
SR. CLAIRE NICOLE
Little Sisters of Jesus
'When we enter in the museum, we see his sandal and his compass, and those two things are good symbols because he wanted to be in relationship with people, so he had to walk and meet the people, and then his compass because he walked a long way in the desert, and so a compass is very useful when you don't know exactly the way.'
Their chapel holds the altar Brother Charles constructed to say Mass in his home chapel in Algeria, as well as the artwork he painted to it.
The sisters also have many hand-made tools that show the rugged conditions in which he lived, as well several of the of many letters he wrote to France, pieces of which were given to monks sent to fight in World War I.
SR. CLAIRE NICOLE
Little Sisters of Jesus
'On the top of the paper he always drew a little cross and a heart, one monk cut with scissors and gave that as a relic to each monk that went fighting. Brother Charles was still alive, so it shows also during his life, they all knew he was a saint.'
Today, the Little Sisters of Jesus number about 1,400 members of 65 different nationalities, all drawn to follow the example of Brother Charles, who modeled his simple life after that of Jesus during his time in Nazareth.
SR. CLAIRE NICOLE
Little Sisters of Jesus
'We have to think of Jesus living in his village of Nazareth. There he was, this man, working in a carpentry workshop. At the same time he was the Son of God, but from the outside nothing struck the people, and he was like everybody else, but he was the Son of God.'
Brother Charles' radical life of poverty and profound spiritual writings have already transformed how thousands of people seek to live like Jesus. Soon, the humble priest will be known by his new title, St. Charles de Foucauld.
JM
