Raoul Follereau

["Writer", "Journalist", "Apostle of the Lepers", "Founder of World Leprosy Day"]

Born Aug 17, 1903

Nevers (Nievre), France

Passed Away Dec 06, 1977 Paris, France

Lifespan 74 years old

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Notice / Correction

"No one has the right to be happy alone. To live is to help others live."

Archival Overview

French humanitarian and poet celebrated worldwide as the 'Apostle of the Lepers', who traveled two million miles across sixty countries fighting the stigma of leprosy and founded World Leprosy Day in 1954.

Biographical Record

Raoul Follereau (1903–1977) encountered leprosy patients confined to subhuman, barbed-wire isolation colonies while on a journalistic expedition in the Sahara in 1935. Horrified by societal cruelty toward victims of a curable bacterial disease, he dedicated the rest of his life to their physical and social redemption.

Follereau delivered over 1,200 lectures worldwide, raising funds to build modern hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and supply dapsone antibiotics to cure millions. In 1954, he established World Leprosy Day on the last Sunday of January to demand dignity and full civil rights for leprosy sufferers.

Key Life Milestones

1954

Creation of World Leprosy Day

Inaugurated World Leprosy Day globally to eradicate discrimination against leprosy sufferers.

1964

Global Campaign for One Day of Military Spending for Health

Petitioned the United Nations to redirect single-day military budgets towards curing leprosy and hunger.

Memorial Guestbook & Tributes

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Cimetiere d'Auteuil
Paris, France

                         GPS: 48.8475, 2.2611                    

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