Canada's disciple to the disabled

Vanier radiates empathy as he enters a room, takes each person's hand and looks at each one with a gentle, penetrating look. His is not the busy world of current events and people. As he walks, he rests his hand comfortably on his companion's shoulder, though they have only met. When the name of newspaper mogul Conrad Black is mentioned, Vanier asks who he is. Some of the young people who work at Daybreak, the [L'Arche] home in Richmond Hill near Toronto for 44 men and women with disabilities, had not heard of Vanier when they came to live among the intellectually disabled. But they live out his ideas. Sometimes, they take the core members, as the people with disabilities are called, to medical appointments or go to the movies, have tea, go dancing, do laundry together. Joe Egan has been part of L'Arche for 25 years. He is responsible for the eight L'Arche communities across Ontario. "The most striking thing for me is [Vanier's] humility," says Egan. "He recognizes there's a gift in every person."