Pierre Claverie

Pierre-Lucien Claverie (8 May 1938 – 1 August 1996) was a French Catholic prelate and member of the Order of Preachers who served as Bishop of Oran from 1981 until his murder in 1996 by Islamic extremists.

He was committed to ecumenism and dialogue with the Islamic faith, and dreamed of a peaceful co-existence with Muslims in an independent Algeria. Because of the danger, his mother and sister left the department of Alger just prior to independence in 1962, while his father left in February 1963 when he reached retirement.

At Grenoble he was confronted with protests against the French presence in Algeria and realized the limitations of the French world in which he grew up, which he later called "the colonial bubble".

Claverie joined the Dominicans and started his novitiate at the convent in Lille on 7 December 1958. He made his initial vows the next December. He had such an excellent knowledge of Islam that the people of Oran called him "the Bishop of the Muslims", which was a title that must have pleased him, since he had dreamed of establishing true dialogue among all believers irrespective of faith or creed. Claverie also believed that the Islamic faith was authentic in practice, focusing on people rather than on theories.

Work He was appointed as the Bishop of Oran on 25 May 1981 and was consecrated that October, with Cardinal Léon-Etienne Duval granting him his episcopal consecration.

The current postulator for this cause is the Trappist priest Thomas Georgeon.

On 1 September 2017 the Archbishop of Algiers, Paul Jacques Marie Desfarges, and the Bishop of Oran, Jean-Paul Vesco, met with Pope Francis in a private audience to discuss the cause since theologians had approved the cause at that stage. The pope encouraged the bishops and encouraged the cause to proceed. Francis later confirmed the beatification on 26 January 2018; it was celebrated in Oran on 8 December 2018 with Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu presiding over the celebration on the pope's behalf.

Writings Below are the texts and various writings that Claverie left:

Le Livre de la Foi, by Pierre Claverie et les Evêques du Maghreb, Editions du Cerf, Paris 1996. Lettres et messages d'Algérie, Editions Karthala, Paris 1996. Donner sa vie: Six jours de retraite sur l'Eucharistie, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2003. Ii est tout de même permis d'être heureux: Lettres familiales 1967-1969, edition presented and annotated by Eric Gustavson, Pierre Claverie's brother-in-law, with the assistance of Anne Catherine Meyer, OP, preface by Jean-Jacques Pérennès, OP, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2003. Petit traité de la rencontre et du dialogue, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2004. Je ne savais pas mon nom ... Mémoires d'une religieuse anonyme: presentation by Anne Catherine Meyer, OP, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2006. Cette contradiction continuellement vécue: Lettres familiales 1969-1975, edition presented and annotated by Eric Gustavson, with the assistance of Anne Catherine Meyer, OP, preface by Jean-Jacques Pérennès, OP, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2007. Humanité Plurielle, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2008. Marie la Vivante: Sept jours de retraite avec Marie, presentation by Anne Catherine Meyer, OP, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2008. Petite introduction à l' Islam, presentation by Anne Catherine Meyer, OP, Éditions du Cerf, 2010. Quel bonheur d'être croyant! Vie religieuse en terre algérienne, presentation by Anne Catherine Meyer, OP, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2012. Là où se posent les vraies questions: Lettres familiales 1975-1981, edition presented and annotated by Eric Gustavson with the assistance of Anne Catherine Meyer, OP, preface by Jean-Jacques Pérennès, OP, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2012. Prier 15 jours avec Pierre Claverie Evêque d'Oran martyr, Editions Nouvelle Cité, France, 2011.

Bibliographical references Jean-Jacques Pérennès, OP, Pierre Claverie. Un Algérien par alliance, préface de Timothy Radcliffe, éd. Cerf, coll. "L'Histoire à vif", Paris, 2000. Jean Jacques Perennes, 2007. This book was translated into English with the following title: A life poured out: Pierre Claverie of Algeria, preface by Timothy Radcliffe, OP, Maryknoll, N.Y., Orbis Books, 2007.