Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916) was born in Strasbourg, France in 1858 and orphaned as a child. As a young man, he joined the military and served as an officer in the French army, stationed in Algeria. Later, he left military service and became an explorer in Morroco. Here he received several awards of distinction, including one from the National Geographic Society. His journeys left him hungering for more, and began to set his sights on God. His prayer became a simple, but straight forward one, “My God, if you exist, make me know you.” He entered the Trappists but later left. Eventually he founded his own community, The Little Brothers of Jesus. He was a religious leader who inspired the founding of the Little Brothers of Jesus. He was assassinated in 1916, at the door of his retreat in the Algerian Sahara.
He was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 13, 2005 and is considered a martyr of the Church.
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