Le Sillon ("The Furrow" or "The Path") was a French political and religious movement founded by Marc Sangnier (1873–1950), which existed from 1894 to 1910.
It aimed to bring Catholicism into a greater conformity with French Republican and socialist ideals, in order to provide an alternative to Marxism and other anticlerical labour movements.
In 1891, Pope Leo XIII called for the Church to adopt a more open involvement in social issues in his encyclical Rerum novarum.
"[1] In 1905 Sangnier set up a confederation of groups intended as "circles of Catholic education", where young priests could discuss religion and society.
In 1912, Sangnier founded a replacement group, the Young Republic League (Ligue de la jeune République), to promote his vision of social Catholicism.