On Tuesday, May 26, Pope Francis authorized the publication of eight decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Among the recognized miracles, the one attributed to Blessed Charles de Foucauld. Account of an officially “miraculous” event that occurred in Saumur in November 2016
On Wednesday, November 30, 2016, a team of workers from the Asselin company, specializing in the restoration of heritage and historical monuments, worked on the framework of the chapel of the Saint-Louis school in Saumur. Among the wood specialists present that day, Charles, 21, a young carpenter, moves between the vault of the building and the frame. At around 4:30 p.m., an accident of rare violence occurred. In a hasty gesture, the young man goes beyond the secure path and walks on the vault of the chapel. Under the weight of the young man, it suddenly collapses. Charles falls fifty feet and falls prone on a church pew. A wooden post punctures his abdomen, just below his heart.
On the construction site, it is fear. “Such an accident has never happened,” says François Asselin, the manager of the company. While thought to be dead, the unheard of happens. The young man gets up with the piece of wood which pierces him right through. Even more deliriously, he walks about fifty yards, meets high school staff and warns them that a problem has just occurred. Stunned by this vision, people, dismayed, call for help which arrives by helicopter. But it was impossible to get Charles aboard the craft because of the foreign object passing through him. They must, therefore, leave for Angers by ambulance. Another forty-five minutes during which anything can happen.
“As far as I’m concerned, he can’t come through this”.
“I was notified about one and a half hours after the accident, but I didn’t know anything about his condition. I just had the facts, this frightening fall… As far as I’m concerned, he can’t come through this”, explains François Asselin. The manager of the 130-employee company was in Paris at the time. Faced with the terrible anguish that assails him, the head of the company has only one reaction: we must pray. With his wife, he calls the Fraternity of Mary, Immaculate Queen, to which they are very close, as well as his parish of Saumur. Created in 2012, it bears the name of Charles de Foucauld …
“The coincidence is amazing. When François Asselin contacted me to tell me about the accident, we were ,in the parish, living in the context of preparations for a feast to celebrate Charles de Foucauld”, said the parish priest, Father Vincent Artarit. Indeed, the next day, Thursday, December 1, marks the hundred years of the day of his death. For a year, the parishioners notably prayed that the one who was beatified in 2005 could one day be canonized. It is therefore in this context, when a novena in preparation for the parish feast ends, that the accident occurs. ……
In the morning, Charles’ mother announces the news
The prayer networks are active and already hundreds of people are praying to Blessed Charles de Foucauld to intercede for the health of young Charles. The postulator of the cause, Father Ardura, will also explain in the canonical procedure how real the call for immediate and collective help made to Charles de Foucauld was.
The hours pass. François Asselin calls the hospital, but he gets no news. “They are short these nights…” he recalls, his voice filled with emotion. In the morning, Charles’ mother finally calls him. Victory! The operation to remove the piece of wood was successful. Her son is alive. No vital organ appears to be affected. “It was extraordinary. I was able to go see him three days later and chat with him as I speak to you … “, his manager is still surprised.
“You don’t have to ask for forgiveness… you’re alive!”
In this hospital room, another event will particularly affect the head of the company. “When I got in front of him, he started by begging me for forgiveness… Sorry for making a hasty gesture that was going to cause a lot of trouble…”. I was amazed. “No, you don’t have to ask for forgiveness… you’re alive!” I had to answer him”, tells the one who is also the president of the Confederation of the small and medium-sized enterprises (CPME). As the discussion continues with Charles and his mother, François Asselin, upset by the events, allows himself to recount the great spiritual mobilization that sprang up around the young carpenter. This is how he comes to tell them about Charles de Foucauld, whom they did not know existed. He also offers them the comic strip on the French Blessed.
Non-Christian, Charles accepts that his case will be studied by the Church
Two months later, Charles is already back to work. There is no after-effect from the accident. For many Christians who have followed the case, there is no doubt: it is a miracle, a wink from God in this jubilee year. It was only after the euphoria passed that François Asselin, of a pragmatic nature, decided to go into the matter more deeply. The facts are too insistent to ignore the story. “I knew that maybe we were embarking on a long and arduous journey. But if this event had a real link with Charles de Foucauld, I did not feel the right not to embark on it. This business did not belong to us, it was beyond us all”.
Charles, who is not a Christian, does not object to the proposal that his case be studied by the Church. “Recognition of the miracle was only possible because he accepted from the start that he could be talked about and that people had access to his medical records. He does not speak of a miracle but feels that he has been preserved by something that is beyond him”, explains Father Vincent Artarit. The parish priest of the Saumur-centre also sees it as a sign: “when you know the life of Charles de Foucauld, it’s astonishing to see that the miracle attributed to him concerns someone who has no Christian faith… This echoes his missionary desire to go evangelize those who are not in the fold”.
“For us, he is already holy …”
With Charles’ agreement, the process gets under way. The Bishop of Tamanrasset, where Charles de Foucauld died, is contacted. He transmits the information to the postulator of the cause. The bishop of Angers, Mgr Delmas, then opens a diocesan investigation before the file leaves for Rome in 2019. And it is therefore this Tuesday, May 26 that Pope Francis authorizes the publication of eight decrees of the congregation for the Causes of the Saints. Among the recognized miracles, the one attributed to Blessed Charles de Foucauld.
“Charles is very happy for Christians that the miracle is recognized”, confides the priest. In the Asselin company, joy is also present. “I couldn’t tell you how many of the 130 employees believe in God, but this news is arousing a lot of enthusiasm. For the canonization, we will certainly organize something to be present in Saint Peter’s Square. Without going too far, I think that many will respond to this invitation … “rejoices François Asselin.
It is not yet known when the canonization of Blessed Charles de Foucauld can take place. The health crisis still makes the prospects of large gatherings in Saint Peter’s Square unimaginable. How much longer will we have to wait? “For us, he is already holy…” smiles Father Artarit, who confirms that the extraordinary influence of the Blessed Frenchman should bring together tens of thousands of people from all over the world. “It would be a shame to celebrate it on the quiet…”
29/05/202, Hugues Lefèvre