Henri Boulad, a Jesuit writer passed away Wednesday morning in Cairo. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1931. His father was of Syrian descent, and his mother was of Italian origin. The family spoke French as their native language and practiced Catholicism. Boulad entered the Society of Jesus in 1950 and was ordained as a priest in Beirut in 1963. He studied philosophy in France, theology in Lebanon, and psychology and pedagogy in the United States, earning three doctoral degrees. Upon returning to Egypt, he worked in youth education, social work, and as a retreat director. He championed the cause of lepers and involved young people in this mission.

In collaboration with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, he organized initiatives for the poor in Egypt and later in Sudan. He was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the French Order of Merit for his selfless dedication to his life’s work. From 1985, he served as the head of Caritas in Cairo and vice president of the organization’s Rome headquarters. He frequently gave lectures and conducted speaking tours in Europe. In 2007, he advocated for church reform in a private letter to Pope Benedict XVI, but after the letter was leaked, he apologized to the Pope. Henri Boulad was a well-known spiritual writer, and several of his books have been translated into Hungarian.

The popular spiritual writer received Hungarian citizenship in 2017, personally presented to him by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Father Boulad expressed his support for Hungarian initiatives on multiple occasions and warned about the dangers of immigration.

Requiescat in Pacem!