Ignace Lepp facts for kids
Ignace Lepp was a French writer who was born in Estonia. His original name was John Robert Lepp. He was born on October 26, 1909, in a village called Orajõe, which was then part of the Russian Empire. He passed away near Paris, France, on May 29, 1966.
Ignace Lepp often told people he was born on a ship in the Baltic Sea. He claimed his father was a naval captain. However, this story was not true. He was actually born in Orajõe village. His parents, Tõnis Lepp and Anna Jürgenson, were farmers, not people who worked on ships.
He was named John Robert after his godfather, John Robert Birk. His godfather's father was indeed a ship's captain. It seems Ignace Lepp simply used his godfather's family story as his own. He also sometimes gave a different birth date, but he was born on October 11, 1909. The different dates might be because some countries changed their calendars around that time.
From Communism to Priesthood
When he was 15 years old, Ignace Lepp joined the French Communist Party. He was greatly inspired by a book called The Mother by Maxim Gorki. This book made him change his way of thinking. He decided to focus less on himself and more on helping others. He wrote about this journey in his book From Karl Marx to Jesus Christ.
For many years, Ignace Lepp was an atheist, meaning he did not believe in God. He was also a strong follower of Marxism, a political and economic idea. He said he held important positions in the communist party. However, he later became very disappointed with the party.
After this, he changed his beliefs and became a Roman Catholic. In 1941, he became a priest.
His Writings and Ideas
Ignace Lepp wrote many non-fiction books. Some of his early books were about atheism and religion. Later, he also wrote about psychiatry, which is the study and treatment of mental illness. This is because he was also a psychologist and a psychoanalyst. These are people who study the human mind and emotions.
Some of his well-known books include:
- The Ways of Friendship
- The Psychology of Loving
- The Authentic Existence
- The Communication of Existences
He also wrote a book called The faith of men; meditations inspired by Teilhard de Chardin. This book was about the ideas of another famous French thinker named Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
