The Divine Wedgie
Brother Charles of Jesus (1858-1916, more commonly known as Charles de Foucauld) underwent a process of conversion following his military deployment in Algeria. He lived for a time as a Trappist before becoming a hermit in Nazareth and subsequently among the Algerian Tuareg people. In formulating his mode of evangelisation to the predominantly Muslim Tuaregs, emphasised the importance of embodiment and friendship in his ministry. Furthermore, Charles said
I want to be so good that people will say “if this is what the servant is like, what must the master be?”
In December 1916, Brother Charles was eventually killed by a group of rebels during the heat of World War I. Moussa Ag Amastane, the chief of the Tuaregs that had also become Charles’ friend, wrote to his sister saying
Charles…has not died only for you. He has also died for us all. May God grant him mercy, and may we all be together with him in Paradise
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