Charles de Foucauld

Born into a devout Christian family in Strasbourg, France, on 15 September 1858, Charles de Foucauld was baptized two days after his birth. He received his first communion and confirmation on 28 April 1872. He lost both his mother and father when he was six years old, and he and his sister Maria went to live with their grandfather. Extremely bright and curious, de Foucauld began to cultivate a passion for literature from an early age. He succumbed to the religious scepticism and positivism of his time, and soon took up a worldly and disorderly life that however, left him dissatisfied. In 1876 Charles joined the Saint-Cyr military academy and was an officer by the time he was 20 years old. He was sent to Algeria, but three years later, not having found what he was looking for, he left the military to explore Morocco. His scientific ...