Henri Madelin –a French Jesuit priest and theologian – passed away on 8 April 2020 after contracting Covid-19.
Madelin was born on 26 April 1936 in a family of nine children. His family moved to Blois in 1939, where Madelin practiced scouting.
After studying philosophy at the Jesuit formation in Vals-près-le-Puy, two years at Collège Libermann in Douala, and studying theology in Fourvière, Madelin was ordained a priest of the Society of Jesus in 1967.
In 1973, Madelin became director of Action populaire, which became the Center for Research and Social Action (CERAS). After earning a doctorate in political science, he chaired the Centre Sèvres in Paris from 1985 to 1991, when he was appointed national chaplain of the Mouvement chrétien des cadres et dirigeants.
Madelin succeeded Jean-Yves Calvez as editor-in-chief of the Catholic journal Études. He worked as a lecturer at Sciences Po, and was a member of the Catholic Office of Information and Initiative for Europe. He also taught at the Institut Catholique de Paris.
Henri Madelin died on 8 April 2020 in Lille at the age of 83 during the pandemic due to COVID-19.