All privileged to meet him remember an extraordinary gentleness combined with a radical and brave vision for the world

All privileged to meet Jean Vanier remember an extraordinary gentleness combined with a radical and brave vision for the world

“If there is one thing that you must do before you die, it’s to go and listen to Jean Vanier.” I was having dinner in 1992 with a great friend who read me this from a letter she had just received from a friend of hers.

“I can’t go,” she said. “You will have to go.” And so, a few months later, with many misgivings at leaving our two small children behind, I set off with my husband from Somerset to Dundee to hear Jean speak at a retreat on reconciliation. We went just for one night – and stayed for all three.

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