Ludwig, Flanders hermit

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La Vioix du Nord offers a n article about a hermit titled “Ma rencontre avec Ludwig, qui a choisi une vie d’ermite.” The article profiles German-born sculptor Ludwig, who is 80 years old, and has lived in rural Flanders for a decade. Ludwig is a hermit. The jornalist who discovered Ludwig reflects on the simplicity and possessions of the hermit. He reflects, too, on Ludqig’s life in the cold and rainy days in Flanders after departing from the hermit’s home. Article in French.

URL: https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/1414422/article/2024-01-01/mon-reportage-marquant-de-2023-ma-rencontre-avec-ludwig-qui-choisi-une-vie-d

Mystery of hermit Frere Robert

The French-language online news site Corse Matin offers the article “Du Sartenais au Valinco, sur les traces mystérieuses de l’ermite frère Robert,” which translates as ” From Sartenais to Valinco, in the mysterious footsteps of the hermit Brother Robert.”

Brother Robert (1898-1943) was born in Belgium and lived in the French canton of Sartenais-Valinco . He became a surveyor but soon visited the local bishop requesting to become a monk. The bishop sent him to Corsica where at first Robert lived in a cabin, but soon moved into a cave. He corresponded with the bishop, trying to convince him to accept the monk as a religious hermit. The bishop obtained the pope’s permission and assigned Robert to a parish chapel. Robert complied but took up dwelling in another cave, walking the two hours daily to the church.

In 1941, Corsica was occupied by the Italian army and Robert went to live in the hermitage of San Michele di l’Ortolu. It was his last known dwelling-place. Brother Robert disappeared in 1943. Only recently have informal groups with historical interests retraced the hermit’s life, the caves, the documents associated with the church, and the grounds and paths he hiked. But the story of Frere Robert’s last days remains a mystery.


URL: https://www.corsematin.com/articles/du-sartenais-au-valinco-sur-les-traces-mysterieuses-de-lermite-frere-robert-142679

Jean-François Holthof – naturalist-hermit

The French Cistercian (Trappist) monk Jean-François Holthof (b. 1948) moved into his Ardèche hermitage in 1994, dubbed the Saint-Eugène de Chassagnes hermitage, on the edge of the Païolive forest. As a hermit he became a strong defender of the forest, eventually becoming secretary general of the Associaiton paiolive, which champions preservation of the nearly sixteen square kilometers of biologically diverse woodland. In 2010, Holthof contributed to a collection of essays titled Ce que nous dit nature (“What does nature tell us,”) , accompanying a Buddhist, a NativeAmerican, and a secular writer on the convergence of religious and sectarian thought in the defense of nature.

URL: https://www.ledauphine.com/environnement/2023/04/19/ardeche-l-ermite-jean-francois-holthof-nous-raconte-son-bois-de-paiolive (includes 2-minute video).

Hermitage of La Cordelle, France

Brief article (in French) from RCF Radio highlighting the 12th century hermitage of La Cordelle in Vézelay, France. The Franciscan hermitage today consists of three hermits; the guardian or chief caretaker is Eric Moisdon. The friars embrace the rule of St. Francis, which mingles eremitic practice with social contact (the hermits receive pilgrims and visitors). The hermits maintain extensive gardens.

URL: https://www.rcf.fr/articles/vie-spirituelle/questce-quun-ermitage

Devil turned hermit – book illustration

Old Book Illustrations features “Devil Turned Hermit,” from an early 19th-century book titled Cent Proverbes.

The book describes the illustration:

“The Devil, in the guise of an old man with horns, has a female visitor shown to the door and his worldly paraphernalia swept away while he immerses himself in prayer among symbols of asceticism.” Adds the website editors: “The caption reads in the original French: Quand le Diable devient vieux, il se fait ermite. This proverb has a loose English equivalent in The Devil was sick, the Devil a monk would be.