Father Joseph Wresinski wrote the Universal Prayer for the Eradication of Poverty and read it to a crowd of 100,000 gathered in Paris on Oct. 17, 1987.
A discussion of his life follows his prayer.
In 1956, Father Joseph Wresinski was assigned by his bishop to be chaplain to 250 families placed in a emergency housing camp in Noisy-le-Grand, near Paris. The families lived in huts built in a muddy field. He said about his years in Noisy-le-Grand: “The families in that camp have inspired everything I have undertaken for their liberation. They took hold of me, they lived within me, they carried me forward, they pushed me to found the Movement with them.”
In 1957, Father Joseph Wresinkski and the families of the camp founded the first association, later to become the ATD Fourth World Movement. They replaced soup kitchens and the distribution of old clothes with a library, a kindergarten and a chapel. Joined by the first few Volunteers, he soon created a research institute on extreme poverty, bringing together researchers from different countries and disciplines.
Since ATD Fourth World’s beginning, Father Joseph’s own experience as a child in a poverty-stricken family and his daily contacts with very poor families and members of the Movement’s Volunteer Corps have inspired its development.
He always aimed to unite all sections of society around those most excluded by persistent poverty. With this goal, he met leaders of state, churches and international bodies from all over the world. He believed that every man or woman he met represented a chance for the families who were the most left out and he was determined that ATD Fourth World would remain open to people of all cultures, faiths and races.
His appointment to France’s Economic and Social Council in 1979 was a significant step in his quest for official representation for families living in persistent povery. With the publication of the Wresinski Report in 1987, he succeeded in gaining their recognition as partners in society.
On October 17, 1987, in the presence of 100,000 people from every socio-economic background and continent, Father Joseph Wresinski unveiled a commemorative stone at the Human Rights Plaza in Paris. His invitation graces this marble: “Wherever men and women are condemned to live in poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty.”
Since then the commemorative stone has become a rallying point for people from all walks of life. They gather to bear witness to the most vulnerable people in the world and to make a personal commitment to join forces with them in abolishing poverty and social exclusion. The United Nations declared October 17 the “International Day for the Eradication of Poverty” in 1992. In a number of countries people gather on the 17th of each month to honor of people who suffer from extreme poverty and renew their commitment to them.