Jean left the navy in 1950 and began a philosophical and especially spiritual search. He was guided by Father Thomas Philippe, who became “not only my spiritual director, he was also my intellectual teacher.”* Jean adds, “I suppose somewhere because of my freshness I needed a master, a teacher, a spiritual father. I think I knew that I knew nothing. I lived a sort of experience of Jesus and I felt bonded to him. How can one explain that? We are touching on the inexplicable.”** Father Thomas tracked his protégé’s development until his death. The meeting with Father Thomas was to be the second great event of Jean’s life.

When he left the navy, Jean took a year of reflection and joined L’Eau Vive, a lay community made up mostly of students, with Father Thomas as the director. Jean, who had sought to serve his country and who had grown up in a military environment, discovered the world of theology and philosophy. He began his studies at the Dominican convent of Saulchoir, intent on becoming a priest. At the same time, he accompanied Father Thomas on his travels and had the privilege of learning, not just from books, but from the life he was leading with his spiritual guide. This relative protection Jean experienced under Father Thomas’s wing ended abruptly in 1952. Father Thomas was asked to leave L’Eau Vive. At his urging, Jean Vanier took over the leadership of the community.

*Jean VANIER, Our Journey Home, Orbis Books, 1997, p.15

**Kathryn SPINK, The Miracle, the Message, the Story: Jean Vanier and l’Arche, 2006, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd., London, pp.37