Taking the religious name Charles of Jesus, he lived with the Berbers, adopting a new apostolic approach, preaching not through sermons, but through his example.

De Foucauld's family was originally from the Périgord region of France and part of the old French nobility; their motto being Jamais arrière ("Never behind").

[10] His mother, Élisabeth de Morlet, was from the Lorraine aristocracy[10] whilst his grandfather had made a fortune during the revolution as a republican.

[10] Their second son, whom they named Charles Eugène, was born in Strasbourg on 15 September 1858[13] in the family house on Place Broglie at what was previously mayor Dietrich's mansion, where La Marseillaise was sung for the first time, in 1792.

De Morlet, an alumnus of the École Polytechnique and engineering officer, provided his grandchildren with an affectionate upbringing.

Charles wrote of him: "My grandfather whose beautiful intelligence I admired, whose infinite tenderness surrounded my childhood and youth with an atmosphere of love, the warmth of which I still feel emotionally.

[13] A few months later, on 12 August 1874, Charles obtained his baccalauréat with the distinction "mention bien" (equivalent to magna cum laude).

[18] The death of Foucauld's grandfather and the receipt of a substantial inheritance, was followed by his entry into the French cavalry school at Saumur.

Continuing to lead an extravagant life style, Foucauld was posted to the 4th Regiment of Chasseurs d'Afrique in Algeria.

While reverting to being a wealthy young socialite when in Paris, Foucauld became an increasingly serious student of the geography and culture of Algeria and Morocco.

In 1897, after seven years, he therefore left the order began to lead a life of prayer near a convent of Poor Clares in Nazareth where he worked as a porter and servant.

[22] He first settled in Béni Abbès, near the Moroccan border, building a small hermitage for "adoration and hospitality", which he soon referred to as the "fraternity" and both himself and the future members as "little brothers" of Jesus.

Living close to the Tuareg and sharing their life and hardships, he made a ten-year study of their language and cultural traditions.

[citation needed] On 1 December 1916, de Foucauld was dragged from his hermitage by a group of tribal raiders led by El Madani ag Soba, who was connected with the Senussi Bedouin.

One startled bandit (15-year-old Sermi ag Thora) shot de Foucauld through the head, killing him instantly.

[24] The murder was witnessed by sacristan and servant Paul Embarek, an African Arab former slave liberated and instructed by de Foucauld.

[27] In April 1929, the mortal remains of Charles de Foucauld were transferred to the oasis of El Meniaa to a tomb in the cemetery near the local parish of St.

[citation needed] De Foucauld was beatified by Cardinal José Saraiva Martins on 13 November 2005, on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI.

This organization, the Association of the Brothers and Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, consisted of 48 lay and ordained members at the time of his death.

Members of this group, notably Louis Massignon, a scholar of Islam, and René Bazin, author of a biography, La Vie de Charles de Foucauld Explorateur en Maroc, Ermite du Sahara (1923), kept his memory alive and inspired the family of lay and religious fraternities.

[35] De Foucauld also inspired individuals such as Albert Peyriguère and André Poissonnier (the founder of the monastery of Tazert) to live as hermits among the Berbers.

[citation needed] Antonello Padovano wrote and directed the film "The Four Doors of the Desert" based on Charles de Foucauld's life and his friendship with the Tuareg Amenokal Moussa Ag Amastan.