Community life

Jean Babelon

Jean Babelon, born in Paris on January 19, 1889 and died in Paris on April 20, 1978, was a French librarian, historian and numismatist.
He studied at the École nationale des chartes, graduating in 1910 as an archivist and paleographer. On graduating from the École nationale des chartes, he was appointed to the Institut des hautes études hispaniques in Madrid.

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René de la Coste-Messelière

René de La Coste-Messelière, a pioneer on the Way, was one of the personalities who, since 1950, inspired the Société Française des Amis de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle and gave it its reputation. He left his mark on the renaissance of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. With his authorization, we reproduce here the article written by Gérard Jugnot, former president of the Society, in April 1998 in the magazine “Pays Cathare”.

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Jeanne Vieillard

Jeanne Vieillard, passionate about the Hispanic Middle Ages

The only woman in the founding trio, Jeanne Vielliard bridged the gap between knowledge and the simple pilgrim. In 1938, she translated the first “Guide du Pèlerin de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle” (Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela), a 12th-century Latin text, into French from the Compostela and Ripoll manuscripts, and had it published. Jeanne Vielliard was born in Paris on May 26, 1894 and died in Maisons-Laffitte on November 3, 1979.

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Jacques Fontaine

A former student at the École normale supérieure, agrégé de grammaire (1943) and member of the Casa de Velázquez (1943-1946), he taught classics at Caen’s Lycée Malherbe (1949-1954). Lecturer in Latin philology (1954-1957), then professor of Latin language and literature at the University of Caen-Normandie (1958-1959), he was awarded a doctorate in literature in 1957, then professor of Latin language and literature at the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne from 1959 to 1988.

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Jeannine Warcollier

Among the founders and personalities who contributed to the influence of the Société Française des Amis de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle, Jeannine Warcollier defended the values of the Chemins de Saint-Jacques in France and Europe throughout her life. She was General Secretary of the Société des Amis de Saint-Jacques in Paris from 1958 until her death in April 2016. She passed away at the age of 92, having remained active in the Société Française des Amis de Saint-Jacques right up to the end. In Santiago de Compostela, a room at the Bureau d’accueil des pèlerins francophones bears her name.

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Adeline Rucquoi

Adeline Rucquoi, Doctor of History from the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne, Director of Research Emeritus at the C.N.R.S., is a specialist in the medieval history of the Iberian Peninsula and a member of the Comité International des Experts du Chemin de Saint-Jacques, correspondent of the Spanish, Portuguese and Mexican Academies of History, co-director of the “Chemins de Saint-Jacques et pèlerinages” chair at Compostelle, and author of numerous articles on the Compostelan pilgrimage.

Members and Volunteers

A few words to honor those who have made and continue to make our association a success. Offering one’s time and abilities to help others, or to enable the association to function perfectly, is a generous idea that honors those in a position to do so. Volunteers are valuable people who deserve a great deal of gratitude. They are people who, in addition to looking after themselves, have decided to devote part of their time to others, to try to make their lives a little brighter. How much we owe them in gratitude, consideration and respect! Volunteering is a true gift of self, voluntary and complete. Volunteers generously offer their ideas, time and know-how to a worthy cause in which they believe.

It would not be possible to meet the demands of our mission without the help of the volunteers who provide help and support on a daily basis. We need to co-opt new talents, new skills, to meet the many challenges we face.

Come and join us!
We welcome anyone with a sense of welcome and sharing: a warm, friendly and fraternal atmosphere.