A "French Pilgrim": Saint Benedict Joseph Labre
Article summary proposed by the Contacts review with LLM assistance
This article by Michel Evdokimov offers a hagiographic and spiritual study devoted to Saint Benedict Joseph Labre (1748-1783), a singular figure of eighteenth-century French Catholicism. Adopting both a historical and theological approach, the author situates the life of this mendicant pilgrim within the context of the Enlightenment, showing how his radical choice of poverty constituted a prophetic challenge to a society given over to rationalism and entertainment. The article traces the stages of his journey, from his failed monastic attempts to his European wanderings, up to his death in Rome in 1783. It then examines his spiritual legacy, particularly his influence on the Catholic literary Renaissance and the origins of Christian trade unionism. The principal contribution lies in the ecumenical parallel drawn between Benedict Labre and the "Russian Pilgrim," two figures of mystical vagrancy who share, across their respective traditions, the same practice of the prayer of the heart and the same contemplative quest.
This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.
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