À l’écoute de Gaston Fessard

In bookstores March 5, 2026

Inspired by Ignatius of Loyola, Blondel, and dialogue with Hegel and Marx, the thinking of Father Gaston Fessard (1897-1978) is distinguished by a dialectical method based on discerning the internal movements of history: political (master and slave), anthropological (man and woman), theological (Jew and Gentile).

This volume brings together the contributions of an international symposium held at the Loyola Paris Faculties and the Collège des Bernardins on June 26 and 27, 2025. The authors question the relevance of this work in a world where the foundations of political action, moral decision-making, and ecclesial belonging are in crisis.

Rather than perpetuating an apologetic image of the Jesuit thinker, the studies collected here take the risk of critical examination. What place should be given to dialectical mediation in a contemporary theology that is more sensitive to events than to conflict? Can the primacy of Christian freedom still be exercised in a fragmented world marked by mistrust of institutions and traditions? And how can we understand today Fessard's demand to discern historical events as a place of revelation and judgment?

Cover: Gaston Fessard in 1970 at Pen Boc'h. © Archives of the Jesuits of the French-speaking Western European Province

Published with the support of the Fondation de Montcheuil.

Read (texts in French) the authors' contributions (the debates can be found in the PDF of the entire book):

• Rereading Gaston Fessard today: discernment, dialectics, and contemporary crises. Introduction to the book by Alban Massie See below
• Read and reread Gaston Fessard. Welcome to Loyola Paris Faculties by Louis Lourme Free PDF
• Gaston Fessard (1897-1978), enlightened courage by Alban Massie PDF € 4.00
• A “dialectical” collaboration: Blondel-Fessard by Marie-Jeanne Coutagne PDF € 4.00
• Gaston Fessard and Henri de Lubac, comrades-in-arms in spiritual combat by Marie-Gabrielle Lemaire PDF € 4.00
• Simone Weil and Gaston Fessard: resistance against Nazism or “the direction of conscience on a national scale” by Emmanuel Gabellieri PDF € 4.00
• “Waiting for my future self, where I will be given”: meanings and figures of the future in The Dialectic of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Volume I by David Rabourdin PDF € 4.00
• The dialectic between man, woman, and child in Hegel and Fessard: a chronological and theological approach by Emmanuel Tourpe PDF € 4.00
• Facing progressive Christians by Agnès Louis PDF € 4.00
• A theology shaken up by dialogue with philosophy. Introduction to the day at the Collège des Bernardins by Jean-Baptiste Arnaud Free PDF
• Discernment of Secular Religions by Giulio De Ligio PDF € 4.00
• When the pagan-Jewish dialectic challenges substitution theology: avenues of thought against anti-Semitism by Ana Petrache PDF € 4.00
• Gaston Fessard against liberation theology. A critical review in light of Ignacio Ellacuría by José Sols PDF €4.00
• The challenges of fraternity. Listening to the interference of Fessardian dialectics by Dominique Serra-Coatanea PDF € 4.00
• Fessard's dialectic of freedom as the dia-logic of love by Pascal Ide PDF € 4.00
• A cosmopolitan reading of Pax nostra by Gaston Fessard. Some observations on the notion of “community of nations” in the general economy of the work by Louis Lourme PDF € 4.00
• Where are nations headed? An attempt to interpret a recent political speech at the school of Gaston Fessard by Augustin Bourgue PDF € 4.00

Rereading Gaston Fessard today: discernment, dialectics, and contemporary crises. Introduction to the notebook

The work of Gaston Fessard (1897-1978) occupies a unique place in the intellectual landscape of the 20th century, but also today, where we realize that it has a very contemporary relevance and echoes our concerns about the sharing of power, original difference, and supernatural communion. At the crossroads of philosophy, theology, and political analysis, it is characterized by an original method of historical discernment, rooted in the Ignatian tradition and nourished by a critical dialogue with Blondel, Hegel, and Marx. This work, often mobilized in the contexts of crisis of the last century — totalitarianism, world wars, ideological clashes — continues to inspire decisive choices at a time when the benchmarks of political action, moral decision-making, and ecclesial belonging are becoming increasingly fragile. ">This volume brings together the proceedings of the international symposium held at the Facultés Loyola Paris and the Collège des Bernardins on June 26 and 27, 2025, at the initiative of the Société des Amis de Gaston Fessard. The symposium did not aim to offer a unified synthesis of Fessardian thought, nor to provide an apologetic reading of it. On the contrary, it set itself the task of testing its current relevance, accepting the risk of a critical examination attentive to its internal tensions, its structuring categories, and its limitations.

The common theme of the contributions can be formulated as follows: to what extent does Gaston Fessard's dialectical method still allow us to think about contemporary conflicts—political, anthropological, and theological—without succumbing to ideological simplism or an abstract spiritualization of history? More specifically, the authors questioned the ability of Fessardian discernment to shed light on current political changes, transformations in forms of community, reconfigurations of religion, and crises of freedom.

The volume opens with a welcome from Louis Lourme, rector of the Loyola Paris Faculties: “Gaston Fessard (1897-1978), a life in historical context,” followed by a biographical presentation of Gaston Fessard by Alban Massie. This study, entitled “Gaston Fessard (1897-1978), a life in historical events,” traces Fessard's intellectual and spiritual journey, showing how he understood his own approach as "a narrow gallery connecting theology and philosophy through historical existence. From Pax nostra to his later writings on Hegel and history, this contribution highlights the profound unity of a body of work constantly engaged in interpreting the events of his time in the light of the Christian faith.

In "A ‘dialectical’ collaboration: Blondel-Fessard ," Marie-Jeanne Coutagne analyzes the close intellectual relationship that developed between Maurice Blondel and Gaston Fessard. She shows how their dialogue, which took place during the second period of Blondel's work, was not only a matter of doctrinal proximity, but constituted in itself a true dialectical experience, marked by mutual fruitfulness and a convergence of methods. p>

Marie-Gabrielle Lemaire considers the intellectual and spiritual friendship that united Gaston Fessard and Henri de Lubac throughout their lives (“Lubac and Fessard: comrades-in-arms in the spiritual struggle”). Drawing on their correspondence and shared commitments, she shows how this relationship fostered a decisive theological collaboration in the face of the major doctrinal and political crises of the 20th century.

The article by Emmanuel Gabellieri ( “Simone Weil and Gaston Fessard: resistance against Nazism or ‘spiritual direction’ on a national scale”) draws a parallel between Gaston Fessard and Simone Weil in their shared commitment to resistance against Nazism, showing a profound convergence of method between spiritual discernment and political analysis based on rigorous reflection on the means and ends of action. The study thus sheds light on a philosophy of commitment in which self-sacrifice and kenosis constitute the ultimate criterion of freedom and spiritual resistance. The reflection then moves on to the question of freedom in history with the study by David Rabourdin, " “Waiting for my future self, where I will be given”: meanings and figures of the future in The Dialectic of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Volume I." The author shows that Fessard's analysis of the future provides a privileged insight into the understanding of free will, choice, and their historical and universal significance, by closely linking individual freedom and collective becoming.

With “Love can at most found a human family” (Hegel)... The dialectic of man and woman in Gaston Fessard as the foundation of human society. A critical analysis," Emmanuel Tourpe questions Fessard's central thesis that the love between man and woman is the foundation of social bonds. In critical dialogue with Hegel and based on other Fessardian dialectics, he examines the coherence and conditions of acceptability of such a proposition.

Agnès Louis's article, entitled “Facing Progressive Christians,” revisits Fessard's response to Christian progressivism in the late 1940s. She shows how he deconstructs the theological justifications for supporting communism by developing a rigorous reflection on history, incarnation, and the relationship between the spiritual and the political, whose scope extends far beyond the postwar context.

Giulio De Ligio's contribution, “The Discernment of Secular Religions,” examines one of the most original and controversial categories of Fessardian thought. It shows how the discernment of secular religions makes it possible to analyze modern forms of the sacralization of politics, while raising the question of their interpretative limits in the contemporary context.

In “Reading Our History Through the Pagan-Jewish Dialectic,” Ana Petrache explores Fessard's dialectic of the Pagan and the Jew as a fundamental paradigm of human enmity. She shows how this dialectic, at the crossroads of the theology of history, political theology, and the theology of religions, provides a structuring framework for thinking about conflicts and processes of reconciliation in history.

José Sols, in “Fessard and Liberation Theology,” offers an original comparative analysis of the thinking of Gaston Fessard and Ignacio Ellacuría. Despite Fessard's explicit criticism of certain aspects of liberation theology, the author highlights profound convergences in their understanding of Christian action in historical reality. p>

The book pays close attention to the fractures and divisions that run through contemporary societies. In “Freedom in the Dialectic of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola,” Pascal Ide offers a systematic reading of freedom based on the pair being/non-being. In dialogue with other philosophies of freedom, he examines the fruitfulness and tensions of this approach, situated at the intersection of philosophical anthropology, ethics, and spiritual theology.

In “The Challenges of Fraternity,” Dominique Serra-Coatanéa shows how the male-female dialectic plays a decisive role in Fessard's thinking about the social exercise of justice and law. She highlights its gradual expansion from family relationships to social friendship and universal fraternity. In “Une lecture cosmopolitique de Pax nostra” (A cosmopolitan reading of Pax nostra), Louis Lourme compares Fessard's seminal work with contemporary debates on cosmopolitanism. He highlights the resources offered by Fessardian thought for conceiving a non-abstract articulation between the universal and the particular, which can shed light on the question of global citizenship.

Finally, in “Where Are Nations Headed?”, Augustin Bourgue revisits the international soul-searching proposed by Pax nostra. Drawing on the current upheavals in the international order, he shows how Fessard's method still allows us to discern a political course of action guided by justice and charity.

The debates that followed each of the presentations have been transcribed in this volume. They convey the lively confrontation of interpretations, the disagreements that were acknowledged, and the avenues opened up for further study. Far from closing the door on research, these exchanges demonstrate its dynamic nature. This volume devoted to the thought of Gaston Fessard does not merely contribute to specialized studies of his work; it also demonstrates the relevance of a body of thought capable of rigorously articulating theology and philosophy without confusing or dissociating them. By putting Fessard's major dialectics to work, the exchanges showed how fruitful this work remains for renewing Christian anthropology, by thinking about it from the concrete history of human freedoms. In this respect, Fessard appears as a decisive interlocutor for addressing the contemporary challenges of social ethics: discernment of ideologies, understanding of conflicts, the search for the common good and authentic forms of fraternity. The symposium thus emphasized that rereading Fessard today is not only a matter of preserving memory, but also of providing ourselves with conceptual and spiritual tools for thinking and acting in the midst of the tensions of our time. p>

This work is part of the broader research conducted by the Société des Amis de Gaston Fessard, whose regular meetings and seminars are held at the Facultés Loyola Paris. They thus intend to contribute to a collective and sustained effort to critically re-examine a body of work that remains, even today, a major source of insight for thinking about the divisions and responsibilities that should guide political, ethical, and spiritual discernment in the contemporary world.

The organizers of the conference would like to express their deep gratitude to Loyola Paris University and the Collège des Bernardins for their generous hospitality and the excellent conditions they provided for the smooth running of this event. They also thank the Fondation de Montcheuil and Mr. Olivier Millet for their decisive financial support in organizing the conference and publishing these proceedings. They also express their deep gratitude to the Fondation Finally, they would like to express their special thanks to Ms. Elsa Brot for the quality of her service, which was provided with professionalism, availability, and efficiency.

Table of contents:

1. 1. Rereading Gaston Fessard today: discernment, dialectics, and contemporary crises. Introduction to the journal by Alban Massie
   2. Reading and rereading Gaston Fessard. Welcome to Loyola Paris Faculties by Louis Lourme
   3. Gaston Fessard (1897-1978), enlightened courage by Alban Massie
   4. A “dialectical” collaboration: Blondel-Fessard by Marie-Jeanne Coutagne
   5. Gaston Fessard and Henri de Lubac, comrades-in-arms in spiritual combat by Marie-Gabrielle Lemaire
   6. Simone Weil and Gaston Fessard: resistance against Nazism or “spiritual guidance on a national scale” by Emmanuel Gabellieri
   7. “Waiting for my future self, where I will be given”: meanings and figures of the future in The Dialectic of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Volume I by David Rabourdin
   8. Debate following David Rabourdin's presentation. Futurible, freedom, and grace: on unification in the Exercises
   9. The dialectic of man, woman, and child in Hegel and Fessard: a chronological and theological approach by Emmanuel Tourpe
   10. Debate following Emmanuel Tourpe's presentation. Master and slave, man and woman, confrontation and alliance: dialogue on human relationships
   11. Facing progressive Christians by Agnès Louis
   12. Debate following Agnès Louis' presentation. Atheism, progressivism, and language: dialogue on Christian discernment
   13. A theology shaken up by dialogue with philosophy. Introduction to the day at the Collège des Bernardins by Jean-Baptiste Arnaud
   14. Discernment of secular religions by Giulio De Ligio
   15. Debate following Giulio De Ligio's presentation. Atheism, salvation, history: dialogue on secular religions
   16. When the pagan-Jewish dialectic challenges the theology of substitution: avenues of thought against anti-Semitism by Ana Petrache
   17. Gaston Fessard against liberation theology. A critical review in the light of Ignacio Ellacuría by José Sols
   18. Debate following presentations by Ana Petrache and José Sols. Marxism, social doctrine, and political theology: dialogue on discerning ideologies and societies
   19. The challenges of fraternity. Listening to the interference of Fessardian dialectics by Dominique Serra-Coatanea
   20. Fessardian dialectics of freedom as the dia-logic of love by Pascal Ide
   21. Debate following presentations by Dominique Serra-Coatanea and Pascal Ide. Fraternity, gift, freedom: dialogue on love and negativity
   22. A cosmopolitical reading of Gaston Fessard's Pax nostra. Some observations on the notion of “community of nations” in the general economy of the work by Louis Lourme
   23. Where are nations headed? An attempt to read a recent political speech in the school of Gaston Fessard by Augustin Bourgue
   24. Debate following the presentations by Louis Lourme and Augustin Bourgue. When charity becomes political. Dialogue on community and the Church