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Transforming Lives, Transforming Society
The L’Arche Canada Foundation is a not-for-profit charity that raises funds on behalf of L’Arche Canada and is committed to transforming the lives of intellectually disabled people in communities across Canada.


"Jean is a man of towering intellect, global vision and impressive insight. His integrity is immediately evident on first meeting him, as are his gentleness and deep humility. To encounter Jean Vanier is to confront our human potential for thoughtfulness, compassion and sparkling joy in living."
Dr Balfour Mount

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"His insights into power, welcome, recognition, peacemaking, and community are deep and challenging but never sentimental. Because he lives what he writes about, he acknowledges and addresses the persistent barriers to peace and reconciliation."
Christine Pohl, Asbury Seminary

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"Jean Vanier and L'Arche hold a set of values that contrast radically with the values of today's societies, which for the most part are founded on competition and the search for power. L'Arche communities are not only places of compassion and justice but are also laboratories for learning peacemaking skills."
Hon. Gen. Romeo Dallaire

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Jean Vanier

A Beacon of Hope

Jean Vanier, humanist, philosopher, theologian, man of letters is first and foremost described by his companions as a man with heart, a man of compassion.

We invite you to discover the wisdom of this surprising man, who, with L'Arche, discovered how to bring a totally new light to our collective humanity by becoming supremely attentive to people affected by severe functional or intellectual disabilities.

In Jean Vanier, the man, the message, and the work of this passionate advocate for humanity and truth is one and the same. To know one side of him is to better understand the others.


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Support Jean Vanier's Work

Faith and Light and L'Arche have a presence in more than 80 countries around the world. Your support is vital to the life and development of these communities, particularly in countries stricken by deep poverty, civil wars, or ecological disasters. Learn more about Jean Vanier and his works.

An Unusual Theologian

"Jean Vanier is an unusual theologian according to John Swinton, Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies and Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral Care at the University of Aberdeen. As one reads through his life and work one rarely finds extensive referencing or boasts of great intellectual knowledge of academic philosophy, current debates on the epistemology and ontology of God, or in-depth discussion about the church fathers. Instead one discovers a gentle presence that speaks in stories, and aphorisms which offer nuggets of wisdom about the beauty of disabled lives, the meaning of human relationships-in-community and the love of a God who values vulnerability and weakness."