Hidden life of Nazareth · 1858–1916
Charles de Foucauld
Hermit of the Sahara · brother to all
Charles de Foucauld lived a dissolute youth as a French cavalry officer before a dramatic reconversion. He became a Trappist, then a hermit and priest, finally settling among the Tuareg in the Algerian Sahara, living a “hidden life of Nazareth” — poverty, presence, and friendship rather than preaching.
He was killed at his hermitage in 1916 and canonized a saint in 2022. His life inspired the Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus.
His best-known prayer, the Prayer of Abandonment, was drawn from a meditation he wrote on Jesus' last words from the Cross — “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” — and has become a school of trust for countless people since.
Charles de Foucauld, photograph, c. 1907 (public domain)
A way to pray
with Charles de Foucauld