Gérard Bessière

Gérard Bessière (born 1928) is a French diarist, poet, priest of the Diocese of Cahors, former national chaplain for the teaching staff of university parish, former journalist of the weekly magazine La Vie, and author of numerous books on spirituality. He is now retired to a village in Lot.

Career
Bessière was born in Luzech, Lot, in south-western France. His studies took place at the seminaries in Gourdon, in Cahors and the Institut Catholique de Paris. After studying theology, philosophy, exegesis and Biblical languages, he obtained a Philosophy Degree at the Sorbonne University, and was occupied for a long time with clergy training in the department of Lot. He has collaborated with the publishing house Éditions du Cerf, for which he created the collection Jésus depuis Jésus. Together with Hyacinthe Vulliez he founded the magazine Notre Histoire. He made headlines in 2009 by excommunicating the pope.

Bessière is particularly interested in research on Jesus, he has published several works at Éditions du Cerf, including Jésus est devant, Jésus insaisissable, Dieu est bien jeune, Le feu qui rafraîchit; and a richly illustrated monograph Jésus : Le dieu inattendu, published in the collection "Découvertes Gallimard".

Selected publications

 * Where is the Pope?, 1974
 * Jesus Ahead, Burns and Oates, 1977
 * Alors Jésus s'assit et dit…, collection « Contes du Ciel et de la Terre ». Gallimard Jeunesse, 1993
 * Jesus Sat Down and Said…, Creative Education, 1997
 * Jésus : Le dieu inattendu, collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 170), série Religions. Éditions Gallimard, 1993.
 * With Francesco Chiovaro, Urbi et Orbi : Deux mille ans de papauté, collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 269), série Religions. Éditions Gallimard, 1995.
 * With Hyacinthe Vulliez, Frère François : Le saint d'Assise, collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 354), série Religions. Éditions Gallimard, 1998.
 * " L'Enfant hérétique ", 2004. Edition Albin Michel.
 * " Jésus est à tout le monde " 2009. Edition Les Amis de Crespiat.