Pierre Goursat, Founder of the Emmanuel Community (1914–1991)
A witness to the profound changes that reshaped French society and the Church in the 20th century, Pierre Goursat was a celibate layman, both contemplative and a man of action. He founded the Emmanuel Community, established in 1972 in France as part of the Charismatic Renewal movement, which has since experienced significant international growth.
Pierre Goursat was born in Paris on August 15, 1914, at the start of World War I. His parents, Victor Goursat and Marie Latapie, separated in 1923. Marie, who managed a boarding house on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, raised Pierre and his brother Bernard alone.Bernard tragically died suddenly in 1926 at the age of 10.
At the age of 19, Pierre contracted tuberculosis and spent time in a sanatorium in Plateau d’Assy, in the Alps. It was there, in 1933, that he experienced a profound spiritual conversion. Upon returning to Paris, Pierre pursued studies at the École du Louvre and took courses in history and archaeology at the École Pratique des Hautes Études. He also helped his ailing mother manage the boarding house. After her death in 1941, Pierre took over the running of the hotel despite his own fragile health, which led his loved ones to fear for his life on multiple occasions.
In 1943, Pierre met the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard, who became his spiritual advisor. Their regular discussions on the dechristianization of France profoundly impacted Pierre, igniting in him a passionate missionary zeal. While Pierre considered becoming a priest, he decided to remain a layperson to worship and evangelize within the heart of the world. Cardinal Suhard confirmed this lay apostolic vocation and accepted Pierre’s vow of chastity.
Involvement in Culture, Publishing, and Cinema
While managing the boarding house, Pierre opened a religious bookstore in 1945 and later established a publishing house in Paris. He worked to distribute the Bible and participated in the Evangelical League. Pierre was deeply engaged with new apostolic initiatives in France, such as the Young Christian Workers (JOC), the Mission of France, and the Mission of Paris.
He also joined a group of the Legion of Mary, which he had encountered in Nevers in 1940. There, he met Father Raymond Pichard, the first to broadcast Sunday Mass on French television in 1949. Pierre recognized the mass media as a powerful tool for evangelization.
From 1946 to 1950, Pierre collaborated with the Catholic Center for French Intellectuals, serving on its governing board. He oversaw publications and organized debates in large venues following film screenings, often involving directors and actors. At the end of 1949,
Pierre sold his boarding house to devote himself entirely to evangelization. As a film critic for the Revue internationale du cinéma, he founded the French Cinema Circle in 1951 to continue organizing debates around films.
In 1953, Pierre’s health deteriorated significantly, requiring prolonged hospital stays until 1958. In 1960, he became Secretary-General of the French Catholic Office of Cinema (OCFC), a position he held until 1970. During this time, he built relationships with producers, directors, and actors, participating in prestigious festivals like Cannes and Venice.
The Foundation of the Emmanuel Community
Pierre, who always had deep compassion for the poor and those in difficulty, sought to create a center to support young people facing the rising tide of drug addiction. In October 1971, he purchased an old barge moored on the Seine at Pont de Neuilly for this purpose. Around this time, Pierre was introduced to the Charismatic Renewal through Father Régimbal, a Canadian priest. He saw it as a sign of the “new Pentecost” he had long hoped for, invoked by Pope John XXIII during the Second Vatican Council.
In February 1972, at the age of 57, Pierre experienced a profound renewal through the “baptism in the Spirit” during a retreat led by Father Henri Caffarel. Along with Martine Laffitte, a medical student, he formed a prayer group that grew from 5 to 500 participants within a year. By 1973, other prayer groups had formed in Paris under the name “Emmanuel” and Pierre assumed responsibility for them.
After attending the first national Charismatic Renewal gathering in Vézelay in July 1974, Pierre organized summer sessions of prayer and formation in Paray-le-Monial, Burgundy, where Christ had appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century. These sessions revitalized the neglected sanctuary, attracting pilgrims from around the world.
In 1974, communal living began to take shape when Pierre moved into a parish house at the Cité Universitaire in Gentilly with two young men. By 1975, the group expanded and relocated to Rue Gay-Lussac in Paris. Pierre organized trips for French Charismatic Renewal members to visit similar communities in the United States in the summer of 1976. Upon their return, he proposed a spiritual retreat, laying the foundation for the Emmanuel Community, which had been forming over the previous four years. On June 18, 1977, about 60 people made their first commitments to the community.
The Emmanuel Community rapidly expanded internationally. In 1978, Pierre moved onto the barge with his close collaborators during a period of intense missionary and formative activity.
Later Years and Death
After suffering a heart attack in late summer 1985, Pierre stepped down from leading the community. He entered the final stage of his life, marked by deep prayer and physical decline. Living in total surrender to God, he died on the barge on March 25, 1991.
His funeral was celebrated on March 27 by Cardinal Lustiger at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris, which had been entrusted to Emmanuel priests in 1986. Pierre was buried in Paray-le-Monial on Holy Thursday, March 28.
