Charles de Foucauld was beatified in 2005. I'm reading Seeds of the Desert by Rene Voillaume, the Prior General of the Little Brothers of Jesus. The Little Brothers is the Religious Order envisioned by Charles de Foucauld. The Order started after Charles died. He never did get anyone to join up with him.
I think his problem was the place. What he envisioned was the life of a quasi Lay Franciscan/Dominican. But I suppose you have to have a Religious Order before you have any Lay Associates. He wanted his brothers to be religious in the sense of prayer. However he wanted the brothers to share their prayer with the people.
IOW, he wanted to live like Jesus at Nazareth. He lived as a poor workman living in obscurity. But he went out and directly contacted the people. His simple, fraternal friendship brought Love in the presence of Christ, out to the world.
He sounds exactly like a Lay Franciscan or Lay Dominican. The friendship, the intimate conversations, his witness, made Jesus known. He was an ordained priest, however, and administered the sacraments. There's the difference.
Charles de Foucauld was assassinated. The place he lived in--southern Aleria, did not look kindly upon Christians. He was also French. The French were the oppressors of the Berbers, who lived in de Foucauld's area. Double reason to hate him.
Charles de Foucauld is considered a martyr for the Faith
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