The Miracle, The Message, The Story

In 1964 an extraordinary man started an extraordinary project. Jean Vanier, a Dartmouth-trained ex-naval officer, and son of a Governor General of Canada, bought a small house in a village to the north of Paris and invited three men with mental disabilities to share it with him. This was the beginning of l'Arche (The Ark), a special form of community where people who are often rejected and despised by this world can develop their potential to the full. Based on many conversations and much time spent with Jean Vanier, Kathryn Spink traces the growth of the l'Arche movement over forty years, and the life and thoughts of Jean Vanier himself: his childhood in a devout Christian family, his English education, his escape from war-torn France and his historic meeting with Pere Thomas, the priest who helped him find his true vocation. Miraculously there are now over 125 l'Arche communities scattered across the continents. Their message - that the ostensibly poor and weak are potentially a source of life, hope and peace - is one that has proved to be of relevance to the Church and the world.