90 years of Blessed Brother Henri Vergès

Born on July 15, 1930, Henri would celebrate his ninetieth birthday today.

The rapid completion of the cause for the beatification of the 19 martyrs of Algeria means that there are still brothers among us who knew him. It is a joy to be able to recall his memory for them and for the whole Marist Family. It seems to me that the most direct reminder is to let Henri speak by transcribing the letter written to his family, on the 1st September 1991, on the occasion of the funeral of his mother which he was unable to attend.

“Dear Father, Sisters and Brothers,

Yesterday evening, at the beginning of a few days of prayer with friends in Medea, we celebrated a Mass full of Mother’s thoughts, regretting not having been able to be closer to you in this painful circumstance. It is a consolation for me to know that our brothers of the Toulouse community are present.

First of all, I wish to express to you my fraternal gratitude for having been so affectionate to Mother, especially in these last years, for having accompanied her so closely in her suffering. I could, therefore, be less worried about my mission. A grace of unity in filial love, of constant fidelity that Mother has valued for us and for which I thank the Lord.

You must have spoken in these recent days about what she was for each one of us. I would also like to recall the place she held in my life, the deep imprint she left on me and which I have discovered more and more over the years:

• her sense of poverty drawn from a childhood of misery which she faced without bitterness, quite simply, in her never-ending work, in the horror of all waste, in a never-failing economy, a value that she knew how to communicate to us;
• a sense of cleanliness, so meticulous in her house that she could hardly bear to let herself be helped in the household which was only well done by her;
• a sense of beauty, rapturous in the presence of a little one, beautiful flowers, a beautiful text…
• and a sense of the good… even in the recipes she excelled in;
• sense of God, impulse of the heart, the life of her life, the constant murmur of her prayer, lost confidence in all circumstances, even in that never-ending worry that often transpired in her, spontaneous recourse to the Virgin Mary companion of her days…
• and a sense of others, of welcome, especially the most disadvantaged. You must have, like me, many testimonies of her tenderness for the poor with whom she seemed to be in communion of soul .

What did she experience afterwards during these long years of “silent confinement” which were very painful for her at the beginning when she felt herself sinking little by little into this state of obscure torpor… Mystery between her and God… Mystery of the suffering which is part of our fulfilment, certainly, but which we find so difficult to accept.

And now that she has accomplished everything, may Mother continue to walk with us, may she help us to live from her inheritance at its best. A beautiful life, a luminous wake, most human, that can inspire and animate our own journey. A mother who continues to give birth to us.

“The Lord worked wonders for me” of simplicity and love.

Thank you Mother! »

Henri

Brother Henri, thank you for sharing your delicate and deep love for your mother and all your family. May it be a light on our journey!

___________

Brother Alain Delorme, in the name of all the brothers who knew Henri.

Saint Paul-3-Châteaux, July 2020