[1] His father was a communist activist and doctor in the International Brigades in Spain, and had spent time in the Natzweiler-Struthof and Dachau concentration camps.

[12] Throughout his works, he pursued deep engagements with philosophers and theologians in these traditions, as well as poets and novelists who could help him address the human questions in which he was interested.

A chief research project of Chrétien’s through multiple publications was the experience of transcendence, what he called the “excess of the encounter with things, other, world, and God .

Thus, in a 2013 interview, Chrétien declared that "the guiding theme of all of my writings has been a phenomenology of speech as the place where all meaning comes to light and is received.

"[14] Chrétien was throughout his life a confirmed bachelor,[15] as well as a luddite with respect to technology: he never used computers, writing his many books and articles by hand, and preferring personal communication wherever possible.