Emmaus International

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The creation of Emmaus International (1963 – 1987)

premiere rencontre mondiale1963 - 1969

In preparation for their first global meeting, Abbé Pierre visited all the Emmaus organisations around the world.

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After the shipwreck, Abbé Pierre became acutely aware he was the only person who knew about all the Emmaus organisations around the world. Convinced of the need to unite them, between 1963 and 1969 he travelled extensively to meet them to prepare for the first general assembly of the world’s Emmaus organisations. In particular, he wanted to discuss the content of an important document, which was to become the Emmaus movement’s universal manifesto.

 

premiere assemblee mondiale berne1969

70 Emmaus organisations from 20 different countries met for the first world assembly in Berne, where they adopted the universal manifesto.

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The first world assembly of Emmaus was held in Berne, Switzerland from 24 – 25 May 1969 with 70 Emmaus organisations from 20 different countries and four continents (Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe).
It adopted the universal manifesto, one of the movement’s so-called “founding texts”, which are often referred to as they explain the movement’s objectives and values.

The second important decision the assembly made was to entrust the international movement of Emmaus to an interim committee for a duration of two years. Lastly, it set up an international secretariat whose purpose was to “strengthen the ties between the different groups, coordinate their efforts and document all the issues they are facing in order to find an effective solution for members of society who are suffering most”.

 

thumb naissance-association-emmaus-international1971

The world assembly in Montreal set up Emmaus International.

 

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The world assembly in Montreal set up Emmaus International.      
In 1971, 120 organisations attended the world assembly held in Montreal, Canada. Ninety-five of them, from 20 countries and four continents, adopted the statutes of “EMMAUS INTERNATIONAL, an international, non-governmental, non profit-making, contractual association” whose purpose was to “carry on with the action started in 1949”.

 

thumb 25-anniversaire-naissance-emmaus1974

On Emmaus’s 25th anniversary, the movement reiterated its commitment and independence from all ideologies.

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Emmaus International’s third world assembly coincided with the movement’s 25th anniversary. In preparation for the event, in 1972 the executive committee sent all the members a document entitled ‘Emmaus: Past and Future’ and a survey to try to determine what characterised the movement.
The world assembly emphasised a key principle laid out in the manifesto: “Each and everybody’s freedom of personal commitment on a denominational, philosophical and political level.” The movement reiterated its total independence from any outside ideology and that it would continue to keep its doors open to anyone in need.
The assembly also organised the movement into nine regions: Africa; North America; South America; Asia and Far East Asia; Asia and India/Bangladesh; the Middle East (Lebanon); Northern Europe, France, and other European countries.

 

La représentativité des élus est améliorée et le texte « Ampleurs et limites de l’engagement social d’Emmaüs » est ratifié1979

More regional representatives were elected and the ‘Scope and Limits of Emmaus’s Social Commitment’ text was adopted.

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The fourth world assembly in Denmark in October 1979 revised the statutes, clarifying the role of the regions and increasing the number of their representatives.
The assembly adopted the text ‘Scope and Limits of Emmaus’s Social Commitment’, which made clear the position of Emmaus which “will always be in conflict with those who, consciously or unconsciously, are the cause of [….] suffering". Every member organisation can commit itself to “a particular option”, whether political or religious, but it must “clearly specify in public that this is a special choice, peculiar to this group and not the commitment of the Movement as a whole.” These principles are still relevant today, especially given the increasing diversity of the situations in which Emmaus organisations are working.

 

thumb 5-assemblee-mondiale1984

The 5th world assembly was held near Namur in Belgium and focused on Emmaus's topical issues.

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At the time of the world assembly in 1984, the unemployment crisis was beginning to unfold. In his opening address, Abbé Pierre asked how all the free time brought about by unemployment could be put to good use, and on the role Emmaus could play in the circumstances.
Albert Tévoédjrè, of the Geneva International Labour Office, also presented his book, Pauvreté, richesse des peuples (Poverty, wealth and peoples).

 

 

 

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Around the world (1954 – 1963)

thumb echo-depasse-frontieres-franceFrom 1954 onwards

The impact of the appeal was felt far beyond France.

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In February 1954, the European and international media covered the appeal and its ensuing mobilisation. Political, civil, religious and university leaders and ordinary people around the world invited Abbé Pierre to give talks about his struggle against poverty. A long series of trips and conferences followed – Abbé Pierre travelled to London, Geneva, Morocco upon invitation by King Mohammed V, India and South America to persuade people that the fight against poverty is a global struggle.

 

L’abbé Pierre est invité à travers le monde1955 – 1963

Abbé Pierre was invited to speak at conferences around the world. There, he revealed his experiences with Emmaus, turned the heat up on public opinion and leaders, and lent his support to all those fighting poverty.  He also visited budding Emmaus organisations. Some were created after he left.

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From April – May 1955, Abbé Pierre travelled to the United States and Canada on the initiative of philosopher, Jacques Maritain, at the same time as the film, Les Chiffonniers d’Emmaüs (The Emmaus Ragpickers) was released. He met President Roosevelt there and the highest religious authorities. The events were covered by the media in several European countries.

Soon after Morocco claimed independence, he responded to an invitation from King Mohammed V who turned to Emmaus to help clear its slums.

In September 1956, he spoke to an audience of 800,000 people in Cologne, Germany. He went to the Netherlands and Portugal in 1957 and to Sweden, Belgium and Austria in 1958.

In December 1958 – January 1959, he visited India where an old friendship linked him to the leaders and disciples of Gandhi, the result of shared struggles for world federalism and the struggle against poverty. He stopped off in Lebanon where his conferences received a great deal of attention.

Between July – August 1959, he visited most of the countries in South America and a few newly-formed Emmaus organisations. He forged a strong friendship with dom Hélder Câmara, auxiliary bishop of Rio de Janeiro, who shared his struggle for society’s most disadvantaged members and championed their cause before the Latino-American Catholic authorities and the Vatican.

Whilst Emmaus communities were increasingly springing up in France, Abbé Pierre continued with his meetings and conferences around the world – in Europe (including Austria, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden), in Africa (Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Senegal, Togo), South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela) and North America (Canada, United States), Asia (South Korea, Japan), in Lebanon and in many other countries.

 

L’abbé Pierre, rescapé d’un naufrage dans le Río de La Plata, prend conscience de la nécessité de structurer le mouvement Emmaüs11 July 1963

Abbé Pierre survived a shipwreck in the River Plate and realised how urgently the Emmaus movement needed to be structured.

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In 1963, Abbé Pierre went on a tour of the Emmaus communities in Latin America. He was travelling aboard the Ciudad de Asunción when it sank on the night of 11 July while sailing across the River Plate estuary (between Argentina and Uruguay). Abbé Pierre survived, although the world's press initially announced he had died. He later said: “This near-death experience was, without a doubt, just as important a moment in my personal life as joining the Capuchin order and begging in the streets of Paris at night […] But it was also a major turning point for the Emmaus movement’s history – and future.”

 

 

 

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France – the movement’s beginnings (1949 – 1954)

En 1945, la crise du logement est très sévère1945

A severe housing crisis

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In 1945, there was a severe housing crisis. For decades there had been no housing policies in place. This, combined with the devastation of the war and baby boom led to a housing shortage. Many families were unable to find decent housing.

 

maison-neuilly-plaisance1947 - 1948

Abbé Pierre moved into the house in Neuilly-Plaisance, which he soon used to give people somewhere to shelter and meet.

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An elected member of the Popular Republican Movement (MRP) since 1945, in October 1947 Abbé Pierre moved into a large run-down house in Neuilly-Plaisance in the Paris suburbs with his secretary, Lucie Coutaz. At first he rented the property but later purchased it using his parliamentary expenses allowance.
In winter, its doors were open to worker-priests, seminarians, young and adult activists, scouts, MRP members and so on.
In summer, it housed the international youth hostel, which gained official youth hostel status in 1949. It was set up to reconcile the young people of Europe whose fathers had fought in the Second World War.  Abbé Pierre called it “Emmaus”, in reference to a Palestinian village where a small group of people who were in despair regained hope.

 

thumb georges-legaySummer 1949

Abbé Pierre met Georges Legay, who became the first companion at Neuilly-Plaisance.

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In the summer of 1949, Abbé Pierre was called to the aid of a man who had lost all hope. After 20 years spent in a penal colony in Cayenne, the capital of French Guiana, Georges Legay was pardoned for heroic acts during a fire. Upon his return, he discovered his wife had remarried and he attempted suicide. Abbé Pierre then spontaneously offered “the opposite of charity” – he suggested Georges “help him help others” by building accommodation for homeless families. Georges Legay agreed to this.

 

D’autres hommes frappent à la porte de la maison Emmaüs de Neuilly-Plaisance et donnent naissance à la première communautéAutumn 1949

More people knocked on the door to the Emmaus house in Neuilly-Plaisance, giving rise to the first community.

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Like Georges, other people soon came asking for help at Neuilly-Plaisance. Thus, the first community was created “when men who had become aware of their privileged situation and social responsibilities in the face of injustice and men who no longer had any reason to live crossed paths and decided to combine forces and take action together to help each other and come to the aid of those who were suffering”.
Rather than providing them with the means to live, Abbé Pierre gave them a reason to live, paradoxically putting those who had lost everything in a position to be able to give.

 

 

thumb premiere-famille-herbergeeDecember 1949

The first family was accommodated at Neuilly-Plaisance.

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A neighbouring family was evicted from their home three days before Christmas. Unable to find them somewhere new to live, Abbé Pierre put them up at his house.

 

Les compagnons bâtisseurs construisent les premiers logements pour des famillesSpring 1950

The companion-builders built the first set of accommodation for families.

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In spring 1950, Abbé Pierre bought a small plot of land to build accommodation for the family.
With help from the first companions and young people living at the youth hostel, the building of this accommodation marked the beginning of the work of the Emmaus companion-builders. In the midst of a housing crisis, other homeless families soon turned to Abbé Pierre for help.

 

Pour vivre et continuer leur activité, les compagnons bâtisseurs se font chiffonniersDecember 1951

To survive and continue with their action, the companion-builders became rag-pickers.

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In June 1951, Abbé Pierre was not re-elected a member of parliament and lost the parliamentary expenses allowance he previously used to keep the community running. By December, the community had no funds left. Abbé Pierre went out begging at night on the streets of Paris. When the companions found out they were angry. One of them, Auguste Le Gall told them he used to survive by going through rubbish and selling what he salvaged. Abbé Pierre agreed to this idea. The companions began this new “rag-picking” activity.

 

Les bâtisseurs construisent des logements pour 141 familles, tandis que l’abbé Pierre tente d’agir pour le logement par la voie politique1951 - 1953

The companions built accommodation for 141 families, whilst Abbé Pierre attempted to put pressure on the authorities to deal with the housing crisis.

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The companions continued building accommodation for homeless or poorly-housed families in Neuilly-sur-Marne, Charenton-le-Pont, Pomponne, on land bought by Emmaus with loans and help from donors. Sometimes they didn’t have permission to build. Abbé Pierre justified this telling the authorities: “When the law is designed in such a way that, these workers cannot afford to put a roof over their heads, it’s not building a house without permission that’s illegal, it’s the law itself that’s illegal.”
Abbé Pierre began giving frequent speeches about the housing crisis from 1953.  
In December 1953, he asked a friend, MRP member Léo Hamon to table an amendment during the debate on the buildings budget for one billion francs to be used for emergency accommodation. However the amendment was adjourned indefinitely.

 

thumb appel-radio-abbe-pierreFebruary 1954

On 1 February 1954, Abbé Pierre made his famous radio appeal, which set off the "uprising of kindness". It received a huge amount of media coverage, both in France and other countries.

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Temperatures plummeted below zero at the start of 1954. Abbé Pierre and his companions trawled the streets of Paris giving soup to people sleeping rough.
When a baby froze to death in January, he wrote an open letter to Maurice Lemaire, the Minister for Housing. A woman who was evicted from her home froze to death on the street in Paris. Outraged, Abbé Pierre launched a radio appeal on 1 February 1954: “My friends, come and help me.”

 

thumb mobilisationImmediately after it was broadcast, donations flooded into hotel Rochester in Paris. In the evening, up to 2000 people gathered at the Pantheon to take the rough sleepers to emergency accommodation centres.

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In just a few days, 150 million francs (2.6 million euros) along with hundreds of tonnes of clothing, blankets, food and heating equipment were collected at hotel Rochester, the disused Orsay railway station, Neuilly-Plaisance and the exhibition centre. The media dubbed this unprecedented mobilisation in France and neighbouring countries the “uprising of kindness”.
The government finally recognised the need for emergency housing. The Council of Ministers immediately adopted a programme for 12,000 emergency houses.
On 30 April, Abbé Pierre inaugurated the first set of houses in Plessis-Trevise with Maurice Lemaire in attendance.

 

 

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History

Emmaus International’s history in short

The Emmaus movement began in France in 1949 when the first communities were set up. In the middle of a housing crisis, the first companions built accommodation to re-house numerous families. When the authorities failed to take action, Abbé Pierre made an appeal on 1 February 1954, which had a substantial impact in France and beyond.

From 1954 onwards, Abbé Pierre travelled the world, became involved in the global fight against poverty and told others of his experiences with Emmaus. Emmaus organisations were formed in several countries.
When he almost died in a shipwreck off the coast of Uruguay in 1963, Abbé Pierre realised how urgent it was to organise the movement. The Emmaus organisations from around the globe met for the first time in 1969 in Berne, Switzerland and Emmaus International was then set up in 1971.

These “world assemblies” gradually forged the movement’s identity and, from the end of the 1980s, gave rise to common action and campaigns.

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About us

Created in 1971 by Abbé Pierre, Emmaus International is a solidarity-based movement, acting against poverty and exclusion. It brings together 425 associations in 41 countries, spread over 4 continents.

All have the same values of welcoming, solidarity, openness, respect and sharing in very diverse social, economic and political contexts. All share the same goal: acting against the causes of poverty and being vehicles for social transformation through allowing the poorest to become actors in their own lives.
Emmaus organisations the world over engage in activities and political lobbying within the framework of three struggles for access to fundamental rights: an ethical and solidarity economy, social and environmental justice, and peace, freedom of movement and of residence for universal citizenship.
As Abbé Pierre’s sole legatee, Emmaus International is responsible for protecting and keeping the memory of Abbé Pierre alive, along with the struggles he tirelessly waged throughout his life.

 

Abbé Pierre

 

“The Emmaus movement is about people coming together and, on seeing other people suffering, deciding to combine their efforts. That, I think, is what’s at the heart of the movement.”Portrait de l'abbé Pierre

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