The Oldest Member of the French Province Dies at the age of 104
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the nations might hear it (2 Timothy 4:17).
On October 19th at the Maison St. Hélène, Father Charles Louis Decamp died at the age of 104. He had been ordained seventy-seventy years at the time that he went to meet the merciful Lord.
Father was born on October 7th, 1912 in Saint Gely du Fere and was the son of Jean and Alexandrine Bruel. He entered the Congregation on September 7, 1931 in Beauchamps (after having studied at the Minor Seminary in Montpellier and Gentilly). He took his vows on November 7th, 1936 (in Dax), was ordained a deacon on December 11th, 1939 and bishop Mathieu ordained him to the priesthood on July 2nd, 1939. From 1940-1945 he was a prisoner of war in Germany. In 1946 was sent to Lyon and then later to Algeria as a missionary. From 1962-1966 he was a member of the Kolea community in Algeria. In 1974 he was appointed Provincial Director of the Daughters of Charity in Northern Africa. In 1996 he left Algeria and returned to the Motherhouse in Paris where he became chaplain to the infirmary, Maison St. Hélène which is located in Epinay-Sous-Senart.
The picture was taken on the occasion of receivng a visit from the newly elected Superior General Fr. Tomas Mavric.
The funeral rites were celebrated on October 21st, 2016 in the chapel of Saint Vincent de Paul (95 rue de Sèveres, Paris). Burial took place in the Cemetery at Montparnasse. Let us continue to pray for him.
Translated: Charles T. Plock, CM
