By Isabella H. de Carvalho – Metz
During his Apostolic Journey to France from Sep 25 – 28, Pope Leo XIV is visiting the northeastern city of Metz, a border town close to neighbouring Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, and the hometown of Robert Schuman, one of the founders of the European Union and a Venerable for the Church.
“It’s a visit from one Robert to another Robert,” said Jean Pirnay, a Franciscan Secular and member of the Institut St Benoît, an organization of the Diocese of Metz that promotes Schuman’s cause for beatification.
Speaking to Vatican News, he noted, “It’s not just the names that are similar, they have a lot of things in common: the respect of every human, wanting to lead people to Christ but without forcing them, and humility and attention to the poor.”
In 1950, with Europe still reeling from the Second World War, Schuman, who was the French Foreign Minister at the time, presented the Schuman Declaration, which proposed creating the European Coal and Steel Community. Member states would pool together the production of these industries, so that no one nation could make weapons against another.
Six nations adhered – France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg – and this community later evolved into the European Union that exists today.
In a still wounded Europe trying to rebuild itself after the destruction and bloodshed of the Second World War, Schuman and other European thinkers had the audacity to hope for peace on the continent and to try to put it into action.
For the members of the Institut St Benoit, Schuman’s political career cannot be understood without his faith, love for the Church and deep belief in its Social Doctrine. He was declared a Venerable in June 2021.
Schuman’s involvement as a Christian in public and political life is also a testament for today, especially in a world again struggling with, as Pope Francis would often say, a “third world war fought piecemeal.”
“Schuman was not a man of words, he was a man of actions, of decisions, of implementing small ways to go forward,” said Emmanuel Crampon, Secretary General of the Institut St Benoît.
“With Schuman we see Christians taking actions and constructing innovative, new ways for building peace.”
A man from the borders who saw beyond them
Schuman’s openness to others also originates in the fact that he grew up between different cultures. He was born into a Catholic family in 1886 in Luxembourg – his mother’s native country. His father was from Lorraine, a region that today is in France but had belonged to Germany, and Schuman thus inherited German citizenship from his father.
Schuman “is a man of the borders,” Crampon explained. “Ever since he was young, he experienced what it meant to share different cultures.”
He continued his studies in Luxembourg, Germany and France. After the First World War he settled in Metz – as Lorraine became part of France – and received French citizenship.
“From the start Robert Schuman learned from his parents, from his education, that it was possible to be a man of reconciliation and of different national identities. He was able to see beyond the borders, to see that there are ways to find a consensus,” emphasized Crampon.
Pirnay noted that in his 1960 book “For Europe”, Schuman wrote that “serving humanity is a duty just like the one dictated to us by our loyalty to the nation.”
“He is a man that goes beyond borders,” Pirnay underlined. “He sees countries and nations, but from the perspective of the Kingdom of Heaven, their existence and functioning should serve the evangelical principles laid out in the Sermon on the Mount,” meaning loving one’s neighbour and respecting the dignity of all.
Shaped by the Church’s Social Doctrine and St Thomas Aquinas
His studies during his younger years also influenced his political career. He became involved with Church activities for young people, joined the Catholic student association Unitas, learned more about the Church’s Social Doctrine, especially Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, and deepened his knowledge of St Thomas Aquinas.
Schuman “recognized that faith is not only an intellectual faith or just in one’s heart. It was also a social doctrine that had an impact on political and social life,” Pirnay underlined.
“The common good, the respect of every person, the infinite dignity of every human, solidarity and subsidiarity… These are all things that he learned and then applied in his whole career.”
These principles also shaped the way he dealt with political disagreements. He was “careful at listening to people, even when he was in disagreement, even during the tensions of the post-war period. He was looking for a person of truth and then trying to find a compromise, a middle ground,” Crampon said.
“That was really a strength for him when he was discussing, when he was leading, even with other ambassadors or representatives from other countries.”
“Political charity, serving the common good was really Schuman’s main purpose. It was really a calling for him after his studies,” he noted.
An example of how Christians can engage with the world
Schuman settled in Metz after his studies and became involved in French politics, serving as a deputy. During the Second World War he was arrested by the Gestapo. He then fled and spent the rest of the war in hiding, often in monasteries.
After the conflict, he returned to French politics and held national positions, becoming Prime Minister, Minister of Finances and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In the 1950s he worked with other European thinkers to create the European community and later became the first president of the European Parliament.
“I think Robert Schuman is an excellent example of what Christian should do to engage in the world,” Crampon emphasized.
“He did not consider politics incompatible with his Christian life and faith. He was still going to Mass every day, when possible, he was trying to exercise charity in his daily life, even with those who did not share his ideas or faith,” he continued.
“He was gentle but not weak. In politics it is also important to be honest and exercise these values with a sense of duty, intelligence and competence and that is in a nutshell Robert Schuman’s life.”
“He wanted to bring people to Jesus but he wasn’t speaking about Jesus. He was aware of what living the Gospel in politics meant. It was clear for him what was the common good,” Pirnay added.
The Pope’s trip highlights Europe’s roots
The Pope’s visit to Metz will focus on rediscovering the roots of Europe based on peace and unity. It will also shed light on this important Catholic and political figure and the legacy he leaves today for Christians and non-believers alike.
“This visit is very significant for the cause of peace through political means, because we hope that peace comes in all our hearts,” Pirnay said. “It profoundly honors Robert Schuman’s efforts to build peace between individuals and between the nations.”
“In light also of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, it highlights a concrete example of a personality who knew how to build bridges.”
“Schuman shows that we should focus on what unites us rather than what divides us,” Crampon pointed out. “During his time, he was pushing for solidarity between nations, but not to stay only at the European level but to be open to other countries. So not to be isolated but to help others build their own future.”
For Crampon, Schuman’s legacy is his ability to do all this with “humility, dialogue and a spirit of service.”
Despite the tense post-war period that Schuman lived in, he “continued to pray all the time, he continued building friendships with all and continued to hope in humanity, even in politicians, and still had the strength and creativity to imagine new forms of society,” Pirnay noted.
“He continued to think that Europe could be built on the friendship between France and Germany, right after the war. Can you imagine? And he still had hope for this vision,” he underlined.
“That’s something we need to learn from him: to never get discouraged.” – Vatican News
