Michel Quoist

Michel Quoist, born in Le Havre in 1921 and died in Le Havre on December 18, 1997, was a priest and a French writer.

His father had died early. Therefore Michel began to work at the age of 14. He sought meaning of life. In 1947 he became a priest. His work as a chaplain and a writer was focused on young people.

After Advanced Studies at the Institute of Social and Political Sciences, as a researcher and practitioner, he developed a method of inquiry which will later be known as an urban classic. He wrote a thesis on a sociology of the old Rouen City. Afterwards he returned to Le Havre as vicar, later becoming a parish priest.

As a post-war chaplain of Catholic Action in conjunction with major religious initiatives he published in 1954 Prayers which brought him a huge success: 2,500,000 copies have been sold throughout the world.

His books are still being published and millions of copies have been translated into 27 languages up to now. His literary work is particularly well known in Latin America.