A woman by Abbé Pierre’s side

The Abbé and his secretary, Lucie Coutaz, receive people all the time, without rest from 1950 onwards, in the house that rapidly becomes a meeting place where people can stay as long as needed, each according to their needs.

 

“Mother Coutaz” is there, with her typewriter, and the “little fellow with his cassock”, the Abbé’s nickname during that time, manages the daily arrivals:

 

Always wanting to do more to help the impoverished, the Abbé Pierre puts aside the administrative aspects, leaving them in the hands of the person he considers more competent than he is in this field and whom he completely trusts.

 

Miss Coutaz was this chosen person. Temporary in the beginning, her mission will become in time a daily task. In Lucie Coutaz, the Abbé found the efficient collaborator who will one day ensure the fulfilment of his projects.

 

Rented at first, the house was soon for sale. The Abbé searches everywhere for the needed funds before signing the agreement to sell. The evening before the signature, he still didn’t have the money. In the afternoon, a motorcycle thunders in the courtyard. The motorcyclist asks for the Abbé’s office, goes up in a hurry and deposits a package wrapped in newspaper.

 

That evening, the Abbé opens the package and finds the missing sum. The day the house was bought, same search for funds, same motorcycle and same amount of money. Lucie Coutaz then says to the Abbé: