Tribute to Abbé Pierre

This was the scene outside the Val de Grace hospital on Blvd Port Royal tonight and for the last several days, where people have been paying tribute to the late French Catholic priest, Abbé Pierre. The letters, flowers, and candles honor his lifelong campaign for human rights and especially the provision of housing for the poor and homeless. Just after the war, there were many poor and working class families in France without adequate housing as a result of limited public construction and the destruction resulting from the war. He served in the government to speed up the starting of public housing projects, and several years later, during an especially cold Paris winter, he issued a famous radio appeal to all of France to support those in need, and the Emmaus movement took off. The Emmaus International organization supports campaigns all over the world to relieve suffering by improvements in living conditions among the poor. The best tribute to this great leader would be to do what you can to contribute to the movement to end extreme poverty and to defend human rights.