French Priest Pierre Dies at 94

PARIS -- Abbe Pierre, a feisty but humble priest who battled more than a half-century on behalf of the homeless and became for many the conscience of France, died Monday at age 94, sending the nation into mourning.

President Jacques Chirac planned a national homage Friday for the bearded priest who was a familiar figure with his beret, black cape and staff.

One of France's most beloved public figures _ sometimes referred to as the "ragpickers' saint" _ Abbe Pierre died at Val de Grace military hospital in Paris, his foundation said. He had been admitted with a lung infection Jan. 14.

Abbe Pierre _ known by the code name he used during his work in the Resistance during World War II _ had served as a spokesman for the homeless since the 1950s, when he persuaded parliament to pass a law forbidding landlords to evict tenants during winter months.

He founded the international Emmaus Community for the poor, now implanted in 39 countries on five continents.

"We have lost a great figure, a conscience, an incarnation of goodness," said Chirac. His office announced a national homage to Abbe Pierre with a funeral Mass on Friday at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, to be attended by Chirac.

Abbe Pierre's body was being laid out at the ornate, domed chapel of Val de Grace, with chapel doors to be opened to the public Wednesday and Thursday. Emmaus France planned a gathering at Paris' Bercy sports stadium Thursday night.

Politicians of all stripes paid homage to the former monk, Resistance fighter and parliamentarian who had remained spry and determined despite the infirmities of old age.

Last year, he addressed parliament from his wheelchair, urging lawmakers not to tamper with a law on low-income housing.

Abbe Pierre, or Abbot Pierre, topped polls as France's most beloved public figure year after year.

The Roman Catholic priest freely admitted to using provocation as a tactical weapon in his war on misery.

"I'm not by temperament a man of anger," Abbe Pierre said in a 1994 interview with The Associated Press. "But when I must denounce something that destroys man, I get mad ....