Father Yannik Bonnet
Yannik Bonnet, born in 1934 and died on March 16, 2018, was a polytechnic engineer and doctor of chemistry. Widowed, this extraordinary personality was ordained priest at the age of 66 after a brilliant professional career. He was father of seven children, grandfather and great-grandfather of about thirty descendants. Professionally, he was a senior executive at Rhône-Poulenc before directing the Chemistry School of Lyon and then a management consulting company in the same city. A fervent Catholic and a man of commitment, he was elected local official alongside Raymond Barre and campaigned for education and primarily Catholic education in France.
The vocation
It was in Lourdes, in 1994, that he first heard the Call to the priesthood. He was accompanying his wife who suffered from cancer. In 1995, one year after her death, he asked Mgr Henri Brincard, bishop of Puy-en-Velay, to accept him in his diocese of Haute-Loire. After three years at the French seminary in Rome, he was ordained priest in 1999 for the diocese of Le Puy, and was entrusted with organizing the Families’ Jubilee in August 2000. Appointed rector of the Saint Jean-François-Régis sanctuary in Le Puy (La Louvesc), he told the newspaper La Croix: "The more you hear confessions, the more you find the meaning of your priestly life"[1]. In 2002 he became rector of the St Joseph of Good Hope sanctuary in Espaly-Saint-Marcel, which he helped develop. At 75, upon his canonical retirement, he retired to the diocese of Vannes (Morbihan) and devoted himself to lectures and works on the causes he supported.
His commitment to Maria Valtorta
Father Bonnet stated that he owed his vocation to the work of Maria Valtorta. Moreover, during his studies in Rome, he did not hide it. He met the Holy Father three times and spoke with Cardinal Stanislas Dziwisz, his secretary. He testified that the cardinal assured him he often saw Maria Valtorta’s works on the bedside table of the Sovereign Pontiff[2]. He gave several lectures on Maria Valtorta and spiritually accompanied Florian Boucansaud, the professional footballer who converted.
Selection of lectures and interviews
| June 16, 2016 - lecture for the 1st national day of friends of Maria Valtorta | |
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| N.B.: sound correct from the 2nd minute - Maria Valtorta: The best training for a priest in pastoral ministry.
◦ 00:24: Testimony of Father Yannik Bonnet ◦ 08:29: Aglae ◦ 11:40: Photini (the Samaritan woman) ◦ 15:40: Mary Magdalene ◦ 18:51: The Adulterous woman ◦ 21:20: Nicodemus ◦ 22:24: Gamaliel ◦ 26:31: John of Endor ◦ 27:25: The tax collectors Matthew and Zacchaeus ◦ 30:20: The rich young man ◦ 34:05: The Canaanite woman ◦ 35:54: Judas ◦ 39:04: Conclusion | |
| March 23, 2017 - press conference for the launch of the new translation | |
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| Maria Valtorta, an exceptional lesson in spiritual direction | |
| May 19, 2017 - Interview on Radio Notre-Dame | |
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| Father Yannik Bonnet and Florian Boucansaud talk about Maria Valtorta in the program “Ecclesia” by Maxime Dalle on Radio Notre-Dame. | |
| May 20, 2017 - lecture for the 2nd national day of friends of Maria Valtorta | |
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| Maria Valtorta: Lecture on the last things | |
Notes and references
- ↑ Article by Claire Lesegretain, March 19, 2018
- ↑ May 19, 2017: Interview by Maxime Dalle on Radio Notre-Dame (program "Ecclésia") (go to 1’50’’).