One January day in 1954, Abbé Pierre learned that the baby of a homeless couple had frozen to death in the night. Some days later he heard that a woman had died of hypothermia on the streets having been evicted from her home. Angered by these needless deaths, he sent an open letter to newspapers and made a famous radio appeal to the nation:

"My friends, come help... A woman froze to death tonight at 3:00am, on the pavement of Sebastopol Boulevard, clutching the eviction notice which the day before had made her homeless... Each night, more than two thousand endure the cold, without food, without bread, more than one almost naked. To face this horror, emergency lodgings are not enough…

...Everyone can help those who are homeless. We need, tonight, and at the latest tomorrow, five thousand blankets, three hundred big American tents, and two hundred catalytic stoves.... Thanks to you, no man, no child, will sleep on the asphalt or on the waterfronts of Paris tonight."

In turn, I would like to ask those listening to me a question: what will you do to help me build houses for the homeless?”

The French public responded and gifts and support flooded in. Emmaus communities opened across France. Abbé Pierre became an international figure and travelled the world spreading the word about Emmaus, leading to new communities being set up on four continents. 

Abbé Pierre continued to campaign until his death, in January 2007, aged 94. His funeral on 26 January 2007, at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, was attended by numerous distinguished guests, but according to his wishes, it was Emmaus companions who sat at the front of the congregation.