Jean Vanier helped us know that truly catholic communion in which no one is ignored or belittled

There are so many memories of Jean over the years, but two still stand out for me. The first is the few days I spent with him (and Donald Nicholl, David Ford and Frances Young) at Trosly, some time in the 1990s: no great

agenda, but a rare opportunity for a few theologians to talk and to share in the common life, so as to discover what it was like to do theology in the presence of the people Jean was always reminding us needed to be present when we theologised.

I can’t recall much of what we actually said to each other; but I can recall the atmosphere Jean created in the middle of it all – patient, welcoming, quietly joyful – and the unforgettable experience of Sunday Mass with the community, especially the way one young man after receiving Communion flung his arms around the priest and kissed him.