André Frossard (14 January 1915 – 2 February 1995) was a French

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

essayist An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

Early life

André Frossard was born on 14 January 1915 in Saint-Maurice-Colombier,

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

and served as its first Secretary-General. Later he held a series of ministerial positions in the Government of the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

. Frossard's paternal grandmother was Jewish, and his home village in Foussemagne, France was the only village in France with a synagogue but no church. After attending the

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ÉnsAD, also known as Arts Decos', École des Arts Décoratifs) is a public grande école of art and design of PSL Research University. The school is located in the Rue d'Ulm in Paris. Profi ...

to complete his education, Frossard began a career in journalism as a cartoonist and columnist.

Conversion to Roman Catholicism

Raised as an atheist, at the age of 20 Frossard converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and was baptized in the chapel of the Sisters of Adoration on 8 July 1935. He explained his conversion in the title of his 1969 bestseller ''Dieu existe, je l'ai rencontré'' (''God Exists, I Met Him'').

French Resistance

Frossard joined the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in September 1936 and entered into the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

upon demobilization. He was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

on 10 December 1943. He was interned in the "Jew Shed" of

Montluc prison Montluc prison () is a former prison located on rue Jeanne Hachette in the 3rd arrondissement of Lyon, France. It was known for being an internment, torture and killing place by the Gestapo during the occupation of France by the Nazis. History B ...

and was one of seven survivors of a massacre in Bron on 2 August 1944, in which 72 were killed. He was awarded the Legion of Honor and promoted to the rank of officer by General Charles de Gaulle.

After World War II

After the war, Frossard worked at ''L'Aurore'' before joining ''Figaro'' and ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

''. He attended many conferences in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and abroad, mainly in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where the city of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

elected him an honorary citizen in 1986. Frossard was elected to the Académie française Seat 2 to the chair of the René de La Croix de Castries on 18 June 1987, and was received into the institution on 10 March 1988 by Catholic Father

Ambroise-Marie Carré Ambroise-Marie Carré OP (25 July 190815 January 2004) was a Catholic priest, author and member of the Académie française. Born in Fleury-les-Aubrais in Loiret, France, Carré studied at l'école Saint-Joseph and the collège Sainte-Croix de ...

. By 1990, Frossard had written about 15,000 newspaper articles and several books, mostly regarding religion. In 1990,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

awarded him the Grand Cross of the Equestrian

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

Death

Frossard died in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

on 2 February 1995 and is buried in the cemetery of

Caluire-et-Cuire Caluire-et-Cuire (; frp, Caluéres-et-Cuéres) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is the fifth-largest suburb of the city of Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' als ...

Bibliography

Honours and awards

*Officier de la

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

*Croix de guerre 1939-1945 *

Médaille de la Résistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

References

External links

French biographical noticeAndré Frossard Frossard, André (1915-1995)WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frossard, Andre 1915 births 1995 deaths People from Doubs 20th-century French non-fiction writers Members of the Académie Française Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism French Roman Catholics Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Resistance Medal French Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century French male writers French Resistance members Le Figaro people