The Soldier: GÉLINET Charles
His Story :
Charles Louis Eugène GÉLINET is born on the 19th of December 1877 in Metz (57), then German territory, to parents Lucien GÉLINET and Mathilde BERVEILLER. The oldest of 8 children, GÉLINET is conscripted to the 153rd Infantry Regiment in 1898, and receives his certificate of good conduct in 1901. Shortly after his mandatory service, GÉLINET integrates into the Church at Nancy and is ordained as a vicar at Saint-Epvre of Nancy June 21st 1902. Affected with pulmonary tuberculosis in 1904, GÉLINET will be considered unfit to serve in the French Army and maintained for auxiliary service, permitting him to continue his religious practice through the beginning of the century. Declared as an abbot of the local Catholic Church and a doctor of theology, GÉLINET will also be cited as “voluntarily engaging” in the campaign against Germany the 23rd of April 1917. In May of the same year, GÉLINET, now military chaplain, joins the 48th Infantry Division and will participate in The Great War under the French flag.
Although little is documented of GÉLINET’s actions as a soldier, the role of military priests and chaplains was crucial from 1914 - 1918. As more men had been mobilized than ever before by August of 1914, the French Army was in desperate need of religious leaders to help the morale of its soldiers. A military chaplain, often shown in his traditional robes with an Adrian helmet, will work in ambulances, with the Health Service to tend to wounded soldiers, and share his faith with soldiers sharing his religion. GÉLINET will have been as courageous as any soldier, using his reputation in the Catholic Church to help make life in the trenches easier. Attached to the division stretcher-bearers, GÉLINET will no doubt have been under constant stress to keep wounded soldiers alive and help maintain their spirits, and for his service, will receive the Croix de Guerre medal during the war.
Following his journey during the First World War, GÉLINET returns to Nancy and will continue his work with the church, becoming chancellor and vicar general of the Catholic Church in the region. In recognition of his service and dedication to his country, GÉLINET becomes a Knight of the Legion d’Honneur the 13th of June 1932, and continues to live and work in the region of Nancy until his death the the 23rd of October, 1953, at 75 years old. Charles Louis Eugène GÉLINET dedicated his life to his country and his faith through The Great War.
Dedicated to the memory of this soldier.
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Registration Document: tinyurl.com/ycxmmax7 (pg. 246)
Legion of Honor: tinyurl.com/2tr2u6jj
Geneanet Search: tinyurl.com/mtseh2mt
GÉLINET in his chaplain robes, equipped with a rosary and an Adrian helmet, 1917.
Saint-Epvre of Nancy, Nancy (54), France.
Photo of a tomb at Esnes-en-Argonne (55), France, with an inscription dedicated to GÉLINET. It is unclear why GÉLINET’s name is present in this cemetery.