Brother Marie-Élie returned to the Father’s house on Thursday, 23 January, in the morning after several days in a coma. Providence ensured that he was ‘surrounded by his two families,’ as his brother Jean and our brother Jacob kept vigil over him throughout the night. His funeral was held on Tuesday, 28 January at 10:00 a.m. at Saint Pierre Church in Chalon-sur-Saône, before his burial in Rimont.

Brother Marie-Élie entered the community in August 1984, at the age of 18. He spent forty years in the community, sent after his initial training to four of the current provinces: France, where he had been affiliated since the province was established (Chalon-sur-Saône 1992-94, Souvigny 94-97, Saint-Quentin 2001-2002, Murat 2002-2007, Corbara 2020-2021, Cotignac 2021-2022), Africa (Batouri on internship in 1988-90, and Yaoundé where he was Principal of Vogt College 1997-2001), America (Saint-Jérôme 2007-2009 then Terrebonne where the priory moved 2009-2014), Europe (Bologna 2015-2020 and Banneux where he had his last assignment from the summer of 2023).

He served his brothers as prior in Saint-Jérôme, Bologna, Corbara, Cotignac and Banneux, and also as advisor to the Prior General for two terms: from 2016 to 2019 with Brother Thomas – he was then Vicar of Southern Europe – and from 2016 to 2022 with myself – he was then Vicar of Southern Europe and Southern France, duties to which he devoted himself unstintingly.

The year 2022-2023 was a sabbatical year for him, during which he regained his strength with his family, at the home of his brother Jean and sister-in-law Sophie (where he was welcomed two years later for the last three months of his life). One of the first apostolic activities he was able to resume was accompanying pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the land where God became incarnate, for which he had a deep and infectious love.

Let us give thanks for his life given, for the good he does through his preaching, his listening, his humour, and in so many other ways.