Page US Father Michel Jaouen

For thirteen years, Father Michel Jaouen was the prison chaplain in Fresnes. For thirteen years he listened to cell doors being slammed shut on the inmates - teenagers too often driven wild by their confinement inside, too often alienated and rejected by society outside. Michel Jaouen's first step was to set up a home, where young and old offenders could meet each other. He took them on trips to the sea, to the mountains, helped them escape from their bedsits and their despair. In 1968 he bought a yacht, and every year since then he has crossed the Atlantic in it, taking young and old along. As time goes by, the young offenders become past offenders and, for each generation, the jangling of keys is replaced by the roar of the sea.

Father Michel Jaouen Photographer Jaydie Putterman (click on the image to view it full screen)

Father Michel Jaouen

Photographer Jaydie Putterman

(click on the image to view it full screen)