The Franciscan of Bourges

As you make your way down Rue Bourbonnoux, let me introduce you to a local legend: the Franciscan of Bourges. During World War II, Bourges sat just a few kilometers from the demarcation line. The Cher department, where Bourges is located, was split in two, with occupied France to the north and Free France to the south. The Resistance here was particularly strong, with many trying to escape Nazi control and reach the free zone south. FYI the Germans invaded Bourges on June 19, 1940. The city’s unique marshlands, a true labyrinth, were the perfect hiding place for Jews and Resistance fighters. In the occupied part of Cher alone, there were over 40 Resistance networks! This is where the Franciscan of Bourges, aka Alfred Stanke, comes in. Raised in Danzig, a free city between Poland and Germany, he was sent to the Vatican at age 20 and became Pope Pius XI’s cook. When he returned to Germany, he became a nurse in a hospital, devoting his time to caring for and alleviating the sick, perpetuating his belief in the ideas of St. Francis of Assisi. When the Germans arrived in France in 1940, he was deployed to work in Paris for a time, before being finally assigned to the Bourges prison, where the Resistance fighters were held and tortured. This is where he came to be known as one of the city’s most influential figures. Armed with his kindness and medical knowledge, he treated the wounded, soothed the sick, and did everything he could to ease their suffering. Brave and cunning as he was, he even arranged secret meetings for prisoners, so that they could prepare for their interrogations and agree on what they were going to tell the Germans. The goal was to never reveal what the Resistance fighters were planning, and to avoid the torture that would follow if they were suspected of lying to the Gestapo. Working with compassion and discretion, he even reunited some prisoners or at least shared news about their loved ones and the outside world. Thanks to him, hundreds of prisoners survived the months and years of torture and inhuman treatment inflicted by the Nazis. He gave them hope, medical care and reassurance that their loved ones were still alive, to give them the best possible chance of surviving the concentration camps they were sent to. He was a true hero who, mind you, had originally been posted as a prison guard for the German army. And yet, he chose to risk his life to help the French inmates of this dismal prison. Despite all his benevolent deeds, he was still arrested at the end of the war, as he was still a German soldier. However, courtesy of the many French survivors who sought him out, he was released and sent back to Germany to work towards Franco-German reconciliation. This legendary figure, known as the Franciscan of Bourges, helped save countless lives at the hands of the dreaded Gestapo. He died in 1975 and, as per his wishes, he rests in the Saint-Doulchard cemetery, a village near Bourges, burried next to an old French friend who taught him the language.