Publisher : Studi arabo-islamici del PISAI - Rome
French
Jacques Lanfry. A lion, the Church and Islam
Jacques Lanfry (1910-2000) joined the White Fathers in 1933 and is one of the missionary figures whose commitment illustrates that of the Catholic Church in favour of a dialogue with Muslims. Passionate about the Kabyle people and language, which he visited for a long time in North Africa at the end of the colonial period, and later in France, Jacques Lanfry took part in the production of a linguistic work which is still a reference today. Member of the General Council of the Society of Missionaries of Africa and architect of the “Journées Romaines” in the 1960s, he was one of the actors of the conciliar turn in the field of Islamic-Christian relations.
Published in the series “Studi arabo-islamici del PISAI” (Rome 2021). The book contains a preface by Cardinal Michael L. Fitzgerald and an afterword by Ilaria Macconi Heckner of the Fondazione per le Science Religiose Giovanni XXIII.
Rémi Caucanas is an associate researcher at the Institut de Recherches et d’Études sur le Monde Arabo-Musulman (IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence) and at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic Studies and Islamology (PISAI, Rome), and has taught at Tangaza University College (Nairobi). He was the director of the Institut Catholique de la Méditerranée (ICM, Marseille) from 2014 to 2016. He collaborated on the book L’Église et les chrétiens dans l’Algérie indépendante (Karthala, 2020) and is the author of several books on Christian-Muslim dialogue, including Étienne Renaud, la passion du dialogue (Publications Chemins de Dialogue, 2017).
Entré chez les Pères Blancs en 1933, Jacques Lanfry (1910-2000) est l’une des figures missionnaires dont l’engagement illustre celui de l’Église catholique en faveur d’un dialogue avec les musulmans. Passionné par le peuple et la langue kabyle qu’il a longuement fréquentés en Afrique du Nord à la fin de la période coloniale, et plus tard en France, Jacques Lanfry a participé à la production d’une œuvre linguistique qui fait référence encore aujourd’hui. Membre du Conseil général de la Société des Missionnaires d’Afrique et architecte des « Journées Romaines » dans les années 1960, il a été l’un des acteurs du tournant conciliaire dans le domaine des relations islamo-chrétiennes.
Publié dans la série « Studi arabo-islamici del PISAI » (Rome 2021). Le livre contient une préface du Cardinal Michael L. Fitzgerald et une postface d’Ilaria Macconi Heckner de la Fondazione per le Science Religiose Giovanni XXIII.
Rémi Caucanas est chercheur associé à l’Institut de Recherches et d’Études sur le Monde Arabo-Musulman (IREMAM, Aix-en-Provence) et à l’Institut Pontifical d’Études Arabes et d’Islamologie (PISAI, Rome), et a enseigné au Tangaza University College (Nairobi). Il a été le directeur de l’Institut Catholique de la Méditerranée (ICM, Marseille) de 2014 à 2016. Il a collaboré au livre L’Église et les chrétiens dans l’Algérie indépendante (Karthala, 2020) et est l’auteur de plusieurs ouvrages sur le dialogue islamo-chrétien dont Étienne Renaud, la passion du dialogue (Publications Chemins de Dialogue, 2017).
أصبح جاك لانفري (1910-2000)، الذي انضمّ إلى الآباء البيض في العام 1933، وجهًا رسوليًّا يمثّل الالتزام بالكنيسة الكاثوليكيّة لصالح الحوار الإسلامي المسيحي. كان شغوفًا بالشعب القبائلي واللغة القبائليّة التي اعتادها عندما عاش في شمال أفريقيا لفترة طويلة بعد انتهاء فترة الاستعمارـ شارك جاك لانفري في وقت لاحق في فرنسا في تأليف كتاب لغوي ما زال يُعتمد كمرجع حتى اليوم. هو عضو في المجلس العام لجمعية مرسلي أفريقيا، ومهندس “Journées Romaines” المعماري في ستينات القرن الماضي، وكان أحد الجهات الفاعلة في المصالحة في مجال العلاقات الإسلاميّة المسيحيّة.
publisher's websiteResources of this researcher
videos
Muslim-Christian Dialogue : the approach of the White Fathers
Involved in the Muslim world since its foundation by Bishop Charles Lavigerie in 1868, the Society of Missionaries of Africa, whose members are known as the White Fathers, has contributed to the em...
publication
Jacques Lanfry. A lion, the Church and Islam
Jacques Lanfry (1910-2000) joined the White Fathers in 1933 and is one of the missionary figures whose commitment illustrates that of the Catholic Church in favour of a dialogue with Muslims. Passi...
Resources related to
Muslim-Christian Dialogue
article
Kenneth Cragg and the Event of the Qur’an
- Timo Güzelmansur
Article by Timo Güzelmansur published under the title Kenneth Cragg und das Ereignis des Koran on the theological portal feinschwarz.net (12 June 2026, open access). Timo Güzelmansur presents the A...
article
Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and the Pluriel working group on AI-assisted interreligious dialogue
- Wael Saleh
Text by Wael Saleh, researcher at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and member of the Pluriel coordination committee. The simultaneous appearance of Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Human...
publication
The Recognition of a Hummingbird. Essays on Interreligious Dialogue and Missionary Work (2007-2025)
- Rémi Caucanas
Published in May 2026 by PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome), this collection brings together the essays of Rémi Caucanas on interreligious dialogue and missionary wor...
videos
From Lavigerie to PISAI: The Institutional History of the Missionaries of Africa’s Engagement with Islam
Delivered on 21 May 2026 at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome, this lecture opens the series of conferences marking the institute's centenary (1926-2026). Fr. ...
videos
Interreligious Dialogue and Ethnic Nationalisms in the Balkans
At the invitation of PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome) and Georgetown University, Ahmet Alibašić, professor of Islamic civilization at the Faculty of Islamic Studies...
publication
For a Christian Theology of Religions
- Michel Younès
Faced with contemporary religious diversity, how can Christian theology make sense of the place that other religions occupy in God’s design? Michel Younès examines the three traditional ̶...
publication
Intercultural Theology
- Jean Patrick Nkolo Fanga
Because every theology is culturally situated, Christian theology is inevitably multicultural. Yet one step remains to be taken: to become intercultural. Crossing languages, contexts, origins, ages...
article
Bells and Muezzin in Harmony: Dialogue with Islam as a Spiritual Responsibility
- Timo Güzelmansur
Article by Timo Güzelmansur published under the title Glocken und Muezzin im Einklang. Der Dialog mit dem Islam als geistliche Verantwortung in Herder Korrespondenz (special issue devoted to Pope L...