Charles de Foucauld
French Catholic religious man, explorer and scholar (1858–1916)
Feast: 1 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 26 May 2020 — Miracle through their intercession approved (decree list, 2020)
Who they were
Charles de Foucauld was born in Strasbourg on 15 September 1858. A French army officer and explorer, he became a Catholic priest and went to the Algerian Sahara as a missionary, where he was known as Charles of Jesus.
He was killed at Tamanrasset in the Sahara on 1 December 1916. His Prayer of Abandonment is still widely prayed.
The miracles
Giovanna Citeri Pulici — Milan, Italy — 1984
An Italian woman was cured of bone cancer after prayers for Charles de Foucauld's intercession.
Charle, a young carpenter — Saumur, France — 30 November 2016
On the eve of the centenary of Charles de Foucauld's death, a 21-year-old carpenter restoring the chapel of the St Louis school in Saumur fell about 15 metres onto a pew, and the wooden armrest went through his abdomen, under his heart and out of his back. People who knew him asked parishioners and a religious community to pray for Charles de Foucauld's intercession. Doctors said a fall and wound like that normally cause the organs to burst; he was out of hospital in about a week and back at work two months later.
Why that counted as sanctity
The case of Giovanna Citeri Pulici was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle, opening the way to beatification. Beatification followed on 13 November 2005 by Benedict XVI. The case of Charle, a young carpenter was examined by the Church's doctors and theologians and approved as a miracle on 26 May 2020, opening the way to canonisation. Canonisation followed on 15 May 2022 by Francis.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - decree of 26 May 2020
- National Catholic Register / CNA - the miracle that paved the way for his canonisation
- Hozana - the two miracles of St Charles de Foucauld
- CatholicPhilly / CNS, May 2022 - Pope to name 10 new saints
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q51880 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Charles de Foucauld (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.