Jean Vanier Hero

The Greatest Canadian - Jean Vanier

A true hero is a leader who is compassionate and committed to making a difference. These are a few characteristics that Jean Vanier acquire. On 1964, Canada’s, Jean Vanier established L’Arche community, in Paris, which made him a beneficial inspiration to the world. Vanier contributed to the Canadian society from 1942 to this day, various times. Also, the commitment he had for the disabled was not for money, but to make them feel as ordinary humans. Lastly, Vanier’s strong belief in faith gave him the dedication to influence a better perspective on the mentally ill. Hundreds of Canadians around the world devote time and effort to build a better civilization. But, Jean Vanier is the greatest Canadian for his

On 1964 Jean Vanier took in two men with intellectual inabilities to live with him in a home he called “L'Arche,”.“Essentially, they wanted a friend. They were not very interested in my knowledge or my ability to do things, but rather they needed my heart and my being.” (Vanier) L’Arche was a new approach of sharing life together in a community with people who would contrarily be trapped in mental institutions. http://www.larche.ca/en/jean_vanier/biography Vanier took a biblical passage as his inspiration that declares that the poor are "blessed." “L'Arche believes that every person is blessed with important gifts to offer to others and that we are called to create a society in which each one's gifts can be given and recognized.” http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssjv/jeanvanierstory.html Also that people of different ethnic backgrounds and various faiths such as Jewish, Muslim and others are part of L'Arche, because Jean Vanier supports each person in his or her own faith tradition. http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssjv/jeanvanierstory.html Vanier stated “In any case, community is not bout perfect people. It is about people who are bonded to each other, each of whom is a mixture of good and bad,darkness and light, love and hate.” (Vanier) http://www.picturequotes.com/jean-vanier-quotes Jean vanier’s whole-heartedness creates the image of a

L’Arche engaged many young people, so Vanier travelled and spoke about his life-changing involvement of living with people who possess developmental disabilities. Young people from France, Canada, England and Germany, accompanied him and became assistants who lived with people with intellectual disabilities. http://www.jean-vanier.org/en/the_man/biography/short_biography Today, there are 130 L'Arche communities in 30 countries on six continents. http://www.larche.ca/en/jean_vanier/biography Vanier is also encouraging projects for new communities, and giving lectures and retreats to continue creating a beneficial change in our world .http://jeanvanier.hcdsb.org/jean-vanier/ as he said “But let us not put our sights too high. We do not have to be saviours of the world! We are simply human beings, enfolded in weakness and in hope, called together to change our world one heart at a time” (vanier becoming human 163) A true legacy and inspiration, Jean Vanier was a leader to thousands of people as he encouraged acceptance in everybody no matter what capabilities and incapabilities they own. We all live on the same planet, breathe the same air, and are made by one God. Through his loving and caring manner, Vanier was able to accomplish a modification on the mindset of the human race towards disabilities by contributing to the Canadian society from 1942 to this day,