Le Père Henri Noir

In 1927, the one we nicknamed "l'abbé Pierre d'Issoudun", entered in La Petite Œuvre, the school of the Missionnaire du Sacré-Ceour. After Marseille- where he pronounces his first vows - and Strasbourg- where he follows philosophy studies and do his military service -, Henri Noir goes to Fribourg to continue his theology studies.

 

At the beginning of his last year, the World War II surprise him and, in September of 1939, he joined an Alpine infrantry regiment with the rank of sergent. The February 4th of 1940, benefiting of a special favor, he was sent into the army zone. During the retirement of his unity, he will fiercely fight : that will allow him to be demobilized in 1940, titulaire of the war cross. Le père Noir finishes his theological studiesin Issoudun and is nominated temporarely in the parish of our town; this temporarely nomination will last twenty-four years.  

But the occupation is rampant, engaging his procession of miseries and tragedies. The soldier became a membre of the resistance of alliance network. Priest at the Sacré-Coeur, he hold the role of information agent putting Resistance elements in contact with each others. After the mass shooting of July 10th 1944, resistance fighters quitted the town closplaying as priest, thanks to cassocks furnished by le Père Noir. During the war, Lucien Wajzer, jewish children, and his family, were saved by le Père Noir : "When the anti-jewish laws are applied in all of France, from November 1942, my mother asked herself : Where to hide ? Someone told her to see le Père Noir, in church. She went there, and le Père Noir, after a little while, found us a place in Neuvy-Saint-Sépulchre." But from his act, he had never taken any advantages 

One day, a family in need and wihout house came to ask for a place; with some friends, he built, from his very hands, a fortune house. Going toward the ones in need, the homelesses, the poorly housed, le Père Noir has taken a builder work  : thanks to him 500 families would have a home. In addition to his catechism, the patronage Sainte- Juliette, the dance group Les Libellules, he took each year countless girls in summer camps in his friendly natal town.

 

Tired, le Père Noir passed away at the age of 52.