Dominique Pire, O.P. (born Georges Charles Clement Ghislain Pire; 10 February 1910 – 30 January 1969) was a Belgian Dominican

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

whose work helping refugees in post-World War II Europe saw him receive the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

in 1958. Pire delivered his Nobel lecture, entitled ''Brotherly Love: Foundation of Peace'', in December 1958.

Early biography

Pire was born in Dinant, Belgium. He was the eldest child of four born to Georges Pire Sr., a civic official, and Berthe (Ravet) Pire. At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914, Pire's family fled from Belgium to France in a boat to escape advancing German troops. After the armistice of 1918, the family was able to return to Dinant, which had been reduced to ruins.

Education

Pire studied Classics and Philosophy at the Collège de Bellevue and at the age of eighteen entered the Dominican priory of La Sarte in

Huy Huy ( or ; nl, Hoei, ; wa, Hu) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the ''sillon industriel'', the former industrial ...

. He took his final vows on 23 September 1932, adopting the name Dominique, after the Order's founder. He then studied theology and

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

at the Pontifical International Institute ''Angelicum'', the future

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy ...

, ''Angelicum'' in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he obtained his doctorate in theology in 1936 with a thesis entitled ''L'Apatheia ou insensibilité irréalisable et destructrice'' (''Apatheia or unrealisable and destructive insensitivity''). He then returned to the Studium of La Sarte where he taught sociology.

Career

After completing his studies, Pire returned to the priory at La Sarte, in

, Belgium, where he dedicated himself to helping poor families live according to their dignity. During the second world war, Pire served as chaplain to the Belgian resistance, actively participating in its activities, such as helping smuggle Allied pilots out of the country. He received several medals for this service after the war. In 1949, he began studying issues relating to postwar refugees (

Displaced Person Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

s P and wrote a book about them, entitled ''Du Rhin au Danube avec 60,000 D. P.''. He founded an organisation to help them. The organisation established sponsorships for refugee families, and during the 1950s built a number of villages in Austria and Germany to help house many refugees. Although a Dominican friar, Dominique Pire always refused to mix his personal faith with his commitments on behalf of the disadvantaged, a decision that was not always understood by his religious superiors. After winning the Peace Prize, Pire also helped found a "Peace University" to raise global understanding. Later convinced that peace would not be achievable without the eradication of poverty, he founded "Islands of Peace", an NGO dedicated to the long term development of rural populations in developing countries. Projects were started in Bangladesh and India. Pire died at Louvain Roman Catholic Hospital on 30 January 1969 from complications following prostate surgery, at age 58. More than 30 years after his death, the four organizations he founded are still active. In 2008 a program was established in honour of his work at the Las Casas Institute at Blackfriars Hall,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

.Las Casas Institute
on Blackfriars Hall website

Organizations founded

* Service d'Entraide Familiale: works towards the social re-insertion of persons in state of difficulty,
Aide aux Personnes Déplacées
is active in the field of refugees in Belgium and sponsors children in developing countries,
Université de Paix
specializes in conflict prevention in the family and work place, * Islands of Peace: conducts long term development projects with the populations of Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru.

Footnotes

References

* including the Nobel Lecture on 11 December 1958 ''Brotherly Love: Foundation of Peace'' * Houart, Victor, ''The Open Heart: The Inspiring Story of Father Pire and the Europe of the Heart'', London, Souvenir Press, 1959. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pire, Dominique 1910 births 1969 deaths People from Dinant Walloon people Belgian Dominicans Belgian Nobel laureates Nobel Peace Prize laureates Belgian resistance members Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni