Dominique Pire

Georges Pire was born on February 10, 1910, in Dinant. Taking his vows as a Dominican friar under the name Dominique Pire, he studied theology and social sciences at the Angelicum in Rome and the University of Louvain, serving as a chaplain in the Belgian Resistance during World War II.

In 1949, Pire visited displaced persons camps in Austria, witnessing the plight of tens of thousands of forgotten refugees ('hard core' elderly and sick refugees whom no country would admit). He founded Aide aux Personnes Déplacées, sponsoring refugee families and building seven 'European Villages' in Germany, Austria, and Belgium. Awarded the 1958 Nobel Peace Prize, he used the prize money to establish the Peace University in Huy.