“Before being Christians or Jews or Muslims, before being
Americans or Russians or Africans, before being generals or
priests, rabbis or imams, before having visible or invisible
disabilities, we are all human beings with hearts capable of
loving,” said Catholic theologian and author Jean Vanier,
founder of L’Arche, after being named the 2015 recipient of
the Templeton Prize March 11.
The award comes as L’Arche – a network of residential
communities where people with and without intellectual
disabilities work and live together – concludes a yearlong
celebration of its 50th anniversary.
The award is an “incredible culmination for the year,” said
Bethany Keener, director of communications and development
for L’Arche Greater Washington,
D.C., which includes two homes in Arlington and two in
Adams Morgan.
Valued at about $1.7 million, the prize honors “a living
person who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming
life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight,
discovery or practical works.”
Keener said the prize money will contribute greatly to
L’Arche’s work, but she also hopes it will draw more
attention to people with intellectual disabilities, “who
still face so much discrimination.”
The prize was announced during a news conference at the
British Academy in London by the John Templeton Foundation,
based in West Conshohocken, Pa.
Previous recipients include Blessed Teresa of Kolkata, the
Dalai Lama and Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South
Africa.
Vanier began the L’Arche movement in northern France in 1964,
when he invited two intellectually disabled men to live with
him as friends. The movement has grown into 147 L’Arche
residential communities operating in 35 countries and more
than 1,500 Faith and Light support groups in 82 countries
that similarly urge solidarity among people with and without
disabilities.
Vanier has traveled extensively throughout the world to give
talks, lectures and retreats – especially to young people and
those at the margins of society, including in prisons – and
to reach out across religious differences.
He is the author of more than 30 books, all of which have
been translated into 29 languages.
In remarks prepared for the announcement of the prize, the
86-year-old Vanier said “our world is evolving rapidly,” and
we are at a “crisis point.”
“Either we will move together toward a deeper unity of all
people … or the divisions that exist will grow into
terrible forces of fear and hate.”
But Vanier also noted there have been positive changes. He
said there is “a change in the way people with intellectual
disabilities are seen. For many years these wonderful people
were seen as ‘errors,’ or as the fruit of evil committed by
their parents or ancestors. … They were terribly humiliated
and rejected. Today we are discovering that these people have
a wealth of human qualities that can change the hearts of
those caught up in the culture of winning and of power.”
In addition to celebrating the Templeton Prize, L’Arche
Greater Washington, D.C., will honor the end of the
movement’s jubilee year, drawing around 200 members from
across the country to several events May 28-30. Members of
L’Arche will meet with their respective representatives on
Capitol Hill May 28. Public celebrations include a “Sharing
Our Gifts” gathering at the National Zoo May 29, with music,
games and a photo booth, and a public forum and interfaith
prayer service May 30 at the National Presbyterian Church in
Washington. Krista Tippett, host of NPR’s “On Being,” and Tim
Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics, will be guest
speakers.
Keener’s prayer is that the anniversary events and the
Templeton Prize will encourage people to see those with
intellectual differences as valuable, “as people to be
cherished and loved – that they aren’t a charity case,” she
said.
“Our hope is that Jean Vanier’s work and the work of L’Arche
can be a sign of hope, a sign that there is a different way
for all of us to live together.”
Click here to read about a L’Arche member’s faith
journey.
If you go
Go here to RSVP for the L’Arche
anniversary events “Sharing Our Gifts” May 29 at the National
Zoo, Lion/Tiger Hill, 3001 Connecticut Ave., N.W.,
Washington, from noon to 3 p.m.; or the public forum and
interfaith prayer service May 30 at National Presbyterian
Church, 4101 Nebraska Ave., N.W., Washington, at 2 p.m. For
more information call Liz Yoder at 202/232-4539.
