9th May 2025 with Cardinal Lavigerie
Link to the PDF 20250509 A Year With CML200
Blessed Martyrs of Algeria
We remember the blessed martyrs of Algeria, in particular our brothers Jean Chevillard, Alain Dieulangard, Charles Deckers and Christian Chessel. On 8th May 2020 Bishop +Claude Rault. M.Afr. gave a homily to the the Missionary of Africa in Paris, France. It so happens that, through the mystery of history, I have come to know almost all the members of the Church of Algeria whose memory we celebrate today. Some I have known more, others less. On several occasions I was able to work with Bishop Pierre in the Episcopal Conference, and he came several times to the Diocese of the Sahara when I was Vicar General. He was a passionate and exciting man. His regular letters during the “black decade” soon made him a potential target for armed Islamists and security forces. He knew the risks he was taking. I was also quite close to Christian Chessel,…