Arthur Hervet Explained

Arthur Hervet
Birth Date:11 November 1938
Birth Place:Bannalec, France
Death Place:Lille, France
Nationality:French
Occupation:Catholic Priest

Arthur Hervet (11 November 1938 – 23 November 2020) was a French Roman Catholic priest who was a member of the Assumptionists. He was known for his fight for Romani people.

Biography

Hervet grew up in poverty and his parents divorced. He was involved in an accident in which his leg was amputated.[1] He was taken in by Catholic nuns before entering an Assumptionist seminary.[2] He made his first vows at the age of 18 and earned a degree in physics before being ordained in 1968.[3] He became a chaplain for secondary school students in Cachan and fought against incarceration and prostitution. Although he never met the man, he was influenced by Abbé Pierre.

In the mid-1980s, Hervet became chaplain of a Church boat moored in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine called the Je Sers.[4] He founded the association La Pierre Blanche which aided the homeless and former prisoners. Appointed to serve in the Archdiocese of Lille, he began helping the Romani community there in 2006.[5]

Father Arthur Hervet died in Lille on 23 November 2020 at the age of 82.[6]

Publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: "La péniche du Bon Dieu". 20 August 2009. Doyenné de Berck. French. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110813232529/http://plages-arras.cef.fr/page-17500.html. 13 August 2011.
  2. Web site: Père Arthur. Un curé parmi les Roms. 13 September 2010. Le Télégramme. French.
  3. Web site: La péniche du Bon Dieu. November 2007. fnac.com. French.
  4. Web site: Ma vérité sur l'exclusion. Les aveux du curé des Roms. Le Jour du Seigneur. French. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111108231326/http://www.lejourduseigneur.com/Web-TV/Chroniques/Chroniques-livres-de-Michel-Cool/Societe/Ma-verite-sur-l-exclusion.-Les-aveux-du-cure-des-Roms. 8 November 2011.
  5. Web site: P. Arthur Hervet : « Mon action auprès des Roms est devenue un combat ». 22 August 2010. La Croix. French.
  6. Web site: Le père Arthur, infatigable «prêtre des Roms» dans la métropole lilloise, est décédé ce lundi. 23 November 2020. La Voix du Nord. French.