The life of Bishop Jacques Gaillot, whose memory we honour, was singular.

By walking with him, we were able to measure what Jesus of Nazareth really expects from each one of us: peace, joy and attention to those who suffer, whatever their nature, whether physical, moral, social or even identity-related.

In 1995, despite the revocation of his office as Bishop of Evreux, Jacques Gaillot remained an active member of the Catholic Church. A tireless apostle of Christ, he has magnified his function as bishop of Partenia by resurrecting the diocese lost in the sands. In 2015, his fraternal meeting with Pope Francis, who put an end to his canonical relegation, did him justice. We know that Jacques Gaillot was sanctioned for his freedom of speech so far from the official right thinking, and for having created a supposed division inside his diocesan community. It should be remembered that Christ was certainly not easy to follow either, since, for example, he spoke to the Samaritan woman or affirmed a Sabbath made for man and not man for the Sabbath, acts which certainly shocked the society of his time.

Several movements were then formed to recognize themselves in Jacques Gaillot's message, to support him and to lead actions of opinion. The first of them, Partenia 2000, is happy to have accompanied Jacques Gaillot for 25 years by programming conferences and producing nearly 100 bulletins "La lettre de Partenia", open to his writings.

Being the last president of the Partenia 2000 association and with all its former members, we would like to thank Jacques Gaillot for his authentic commitment to the service of the Gospel and "the ones without home, job, resources, legal dcocuments…" and equally for his freedom of thought. We hope that his life, his way of being and his example will be definitively credited to the Catholic Church in order to erase what looks like a 20 year purgatory and to recognize that he was a true man of God.

Jean-Pierre Maillard
Former Chair Partenia 2000