Robert Schuman

After the war, Robert Schuman regained his seat as a deputy for the Moselle and played a leading role under the Fourth Republic. He was appointed Minister of Finance in 1946, then became President of the Council of Ministers (Head of Government) from November 1947 to July 1948. From 1948 to 1952, he held the crucial position of Minister of Foreign Affairs.

It was during this period that he accomplished his major work. Convinced that peace in Europe could only be ensured through a lasting reconciliation between France and Germany, he developed, in close collaboration with Jean Monnet, a revolutionary project. On May 9, 1950, during a press conference at the Quai d'Orsay, he delivered the famous "Schuman Declaration." In it, he proposed placing the entire Franco-German production of coal and steel under a common High Authority, within an organization open to the participation of other European countries. This founding act gave birth in 1951 to the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the ancestor of the current European Union.

Subsequently, Robert Schuman served as Minister of Justice (Keeper of the Seals) in 1955. He presided over the European Movement from 1955 to 1961. From 1958 to 1960, he became the first president of the European Parliamentary Assembly (the European Parliament), which awarded him by acclamation the title of "Father of Europe" at the end of his mandate.

Afflicted by illness, he retired to his property in Scy-Chazelles, near Metz, where he passed away on September 4, 1963, at the age of 77. He rests in the fortified church of Saint-Quentin in Scy-Chazelles.

Robert Schuman's faith was profoundly unified by his Catholic belief. A man of great discretion, he led a simple existence, marked by daily prayer, participation in Mass, and reading the Bible. A bachelor, he had for a time considered the priesthood after the accidental death of his mother in 1911, but his friend Henri Eschbach had encouraged him to engage as a layman in society, writing to him that "the saints of the 20th century will wear business suits."

Schuman conceived of his political action not as a career or personal ambition, but as an obedience to the will of God and a service to the common good. For him, politics was a path of apostolate and fraternal charity.

After his death, his reputation for holiness continued to grow, particularly among those who knew him. In 1988, the association "Institut Saint-Benoît Patron de l'Europe" was founded in Metz to promote his cause for beatification. On June 9, 1990, Bishop Pierre Raffin, Bishop of Metz, officially opened the diocesan canonical inquiry. After fourteen years of meticulous research, collection of testimonies, and examination of his public and private writings, the diocesan trial was officially closed on May 29, 2004. The investigation file, comprising approximately 50,000 pages and weighing nearly 500 kg, was then transmitted to Rome, to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The Roman phase of the cause was led by the postulator, Father Bernard Ardura, and the vice-postulator, Canon Joseph Jost. The theologians and historians of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints examined the Positio on the heroic nature of his virtues. On June 19, 2021, during an audience granted to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Robert Schuman. By this act, the Catholic Church officially declares him Venerable. For Robert Schuman to be proclaimed Blessed (beatification), the Church requires the official recognition of a miracle (generally a medically inexplicable healing) obtained through his intercession. To date, no miracle has yet been formally validated by the Holy See, and the cause is actively pursued by the Saint-Benoît Institute.

Robert Schuman's spirituality was nourished by the theology of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the philosophy of his contemporary Jacques Maritain. He knew how to embody a healthy and respectful secularism, distinguishing the political sphere from the religious sphere without ever denying his Christian convictions or acting against his conscience. In his testamentary work For Europe, published in 1963, he presents his vision of the spiritual foundations of society: "Democracy owes its existence to Christianity. It was born the day man was called to realize in his temporal life the dignity of the human person, in individual freedom, in the respect of the rights of each, and by the practice of brotherly love toward all." For Schuman, European construction could not be limited to economic treaties or military alliances; it had to be above all a "cultural community in the highest sense" and possess a "soul" founded on solidarity and Christian fraternity. His legacy remains of burning relevance. Several sovereign pontiffs, from Pius XII to Francis, have praised his peacemaking action and his spirit of reconciliation. By declaring him venerable, the Church proposes Robert Schuman as a model of commitment for laypeople and politicians, demonstrating that the exercise of power can be an authentic path of holiness when it is lived as a humble and disinterested service to humanity.