Padre - Memoirs of a Military Chaplain

"The joy of the soul lies in action." This phrase by Marshal Lyautey perfectly sums up Father Lallemand, as soldier, priest, and man are so intimately intertwined. This remarkable personality devoted his life to his brothers-in-arms.

Here is his exceptional testimony, filled with hope. Born in 1937, into a family with a military tradition marked by Algeria, Yannick Lallemand entered the seminary at the age of 19.

It was only natural that he chose to exercise his vocation within the army. The chaplain was also a parachutist, mountain hunter, legionnaire, and then missionary. He knew the theatres of war — in Zaire during Operation Bonite at Kolwezi, in Chad, and then in Lebanon. In October 1983, in Beirut, he had a front-row seat at the bombing of the Drakkar post, which killed 58 French paratroopers.

"Priest with a pierced heart", he remained on site for days and nights, speaking to his young comrades trapped in the rubble. A missionary in Chad, he surrendered to the fullness of his vocation in the most complete destitution, like his model, Charles de Foucauld. Deeply beloved by the soldiers, the Foreign Legion was the great cause of his life: "I speak to them, without ever moralizing. I listen to them. I warm the souls of these fellows, to the point that some say they "would go to hell with me". I much prefer to take them to heaven."