Study Commission on the Abuses Committed by Abbé Pierre (CEVAP)

The CEVAP is conducting an independent investigation into abuse committed by Abbé Pierre and invites anyone with relevant information or testimony to come forward confidentially.

Call for witnesses and information

Commission mandate

Commission members

Media inquiries

Press review

Call for witnesses and information

Do you have information or testimony to offer concerning Abbé Pierre and his visits to Quebec or other parts of Canada? Whether it’s information about his trips or contacts with organizations and dioceses in Quebec, or personal connections you had, this information can help the commission piece together his travels and dealings in North America. 

If you have testimony to share concerning inappropriate behaviour towards you on the part of Abbé Pierre, the commission will listen to you with sensitivity and in full confidentiality.

Email the commission at cevap@uOttawa.ca. 

The commission is part of a worldwide movement fostering transparency and prevention of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults among Catholic and civil institutions. For those who are victims of abuse, speaking out and being heard and believed is an essential first step in healing. 

Commission mandate

The commission has been mandated to conduct factual research on the sexual violence perpetrated by Abbé Pierre, to understand the mechanisms that allowed him to avoid public investigation for over 70 years. Approximately 60 victims have already been added to the list in France.

The commission was established at the request of Emmaüs International, from which it receives funding. It is subject to an agreement with the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), in France, which ensures the legal and scholarly independence of the commission’s research, analysis and findings. 

The commission began its work, which will be performed over two years, in November 2024, under the leadership of Céline Béraud, EHESS director of studies. It will submit a report with its research findings to Emmaüs International in spring 2027. The report will be made public.

Learn more about the independent commission and the violence perpetrated by Abbé Pierre (in French). 

The commission maintains full confidentiality. Information it receives and names of persons it speaks to are not revealed to anyone (not to Emmaüs leadership nor to journalists). 

Canada and North America

Abbé Pierre allegedly victimized people in Quebec in the 1950s and 1960s, according to correspondence between him and a Quebec clergy member. There are also allegations concerning possible victims in New York.

The research component dealing with Canada and North America is seeking information related to the travels he may have made here between 1955 and 2003 by searching canonical, police and journalistic archives, as well as by speaking with people who have facts to share concerning meetings or correspondence with Abbé Pierre, and indeed, abusive behaviour on his part. 

Commission members

  • Céline Béraud, sociologist, director of studies at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales and member of the Centre d’études en sciences sociales (chair)
  • Denis Pelletier, historian, director of studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études and member of the Groupe sociétés, religions, laïcités  
  • Charles Mercier, historian, university professor of history at the Université de Bordeaux (INSPÉ) and member of the Laboratoire cultures, éducation, sociétés
  • Claire Vincent-Mory, sociologist, contract researcher at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales and member of the Centre d’études en sciences sociales du religieux
  • Nina Lauret, research engineer, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, and member of the Centre d’études en sciences sociales du religieux

For Canada / North America

  • E.-Martin Meunier, full professor, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, University of Ottawa, Research Chair on Québec, Canadian Francophonie and Cultural Changes, and member of the Groupe sociétés, religions, laïcités
  • Sabrina Di Matteo, doctoral candidate, religious studies, Université Laval

Media inquiries

To request information or to speak with commission members for Canada / North America, email cevap@uOttawa.ca. 

Press review