Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.
Another influential French singer/songwriter who became popular during the war years, was Charles Trenet. “Without Trenet, we would all be accountants,” said Jacques Brel. Nicknamed “Le Fou Chantant” (the Singing Madman) and resembling Harpo Marx, Trenet wrote mainly comical, some might say “eccentric” songs – nearly a thousand catalogued. His classic “La Mer” (The Sea) is a beautifully melancholic exception. The song has been recorded hundreds of times since it debuted in 1945, and Trenet’s own version is still the best. Nearly 60 years later after “La Mer,” Charles Trenet was still recording his music, releasing Poets Take to the Streets in 1999. Between 1945 and 1999, there were some bumps in the road. In 1963, Trenet spent 28 days in prison in a French prison, charged with consorting with underage boys. It was revealed after Trenet’s death that it was actor Maurice Chevalier who informed the police about his fellow entertainer. Would Trenet have appreciated the irony of being shopped to the cops by the guy who sang “Thank Heaven for Little Girls?” Peut-être.
Rev. Mark Francis, a friend of Prevost since the 1970s, told Reuters the cardinal was a firm supporter of his predecessor’s papacy, and especially of the late pontiff’s commitment to social justice
By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) — Robert Prevost, the choice of the world’s Catholic cardinals to serve as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church, is the first pope from the United States and a relative unknown on the global stage.
Aged 69 and originally from Chicago, Prevost has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023. He has given few media interviews.
He takes the papal name Leo XIV, and succeeds Pope Francis, who had led the Church since 2013.
Rev. Mark Francis, a friend of Prevost since the 1970s, told Reuters the cardinal was a firm supporter of his predecessor’s papacy, and especially of the late pontiff’s commitment to social justice issues.
“He was always friendly and warm and remained a voice of common sense and practical concerns for the Church’s outreach to the poor,” said Francis, who attended seminary with Prevost and later knew him when they both lived in Rome in the 2000s.
“He has a wry sense of humour, but was not someone who sought the limelight,” said Francis, who leads the U.S. province of the Viatorian religious order.
Prevost first served as a bishop in Chiclayo, in northwestern Peru, from 2015 to 2023, and became a Peruvian citizen in 2015, so he has dual nationalities.
Pope Francis brought him to Rome that year to head the Vatican office in charge of choosing which priests should serve as Catholic bishops across the globe, meaning he has had a hand in selecting many of the world’s bishops.
Jesus Leon Angeles, coordinator of a Catholic group in Chiclayo who has known Prevost since 2018, called him a “very simple” person who would go out of his way to help others.
Leon Angeles said Prevost had shown special concern for Venezuelan migrants in Peru, saying: “He is a person who likes to help.” More than 1.5 million Venezuelans have moved to Peru in recent years, partly to escape their country’s economic crisis.
In a 2023 interview with the Vatican’s news outlet, Prevost focused on the importance of evangelization to help the Church grow.
“We are often preoccupied with teaching doctrine … but we risk forgetting that our first task is to teach what it means to know Jesus Christ,” he said.
Prevost said during a 2023 Vatican press conference: “Our work is to enlarge the tent and to let everyone know they are welcome inside the Church.”
‘He knows how to listen’
Prevost was born in 1955 and is a member of the global Augustinian religious order, which includes about 2,500 priests and brothers, operates in 50 countries and has a special focus on a life of community and equality among its members.
He has a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University in Philadelphia, a master’s from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and a doctorate in Church law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.
Prevost first went to Peru as a missionary in 1985, returning to the United States in 1999 to take up a leadership role in his religious order.
He later moved to Rome to serve two six-year terms as head of the Augustinians, visiting many of the order’s communities across the world. He is known to speak English, Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.
Returning to Rome in 2023, Prevost generally did not take part in many of the social events that attract Vatican officials throughout the city.
Leon Angeles said he is a person with leadership skills, “but at the same time, he knows how to listen. He has that virtue.”
“The cardinal has the courtesy to ask for an opinion, even if it’s from the simplest or most humble person,” she said. “He knows how to listen to everyone.”
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Additional reporting by Marco Aquino in Lima; Editing by Keith Weir and Janet Lawrence)
Rosé dazzles as spring makes way for summer’s glow. France leads in global production, with Provence topping the regional charts, but this blissful blush is made all over the country. Here I spotlight four from three regions: Provence for classic elegance, Languedoc for fruit and affordability, and Tavel in the Rhône for depth and gastronomy. Continue reading “Wine expert reveals the best French rosé wines, including a $5.50 supermarket pick”→
Colette Magny (31 October 1926 – 12 June 1997) was a French singer and songwriter. A charismatic performer who did not record until her thirties, her work encompassed blues, jazz, protest songs, experimental music and spoken word recordings. She died in 1997, aged 70.
Pas De Merde 