Death of Father Charles Singer, poet and pedagogue

He liked to accompany the dialogue between the Church and culture. Write poems, religious hymns, but also accompany young people, transmit their faith. Father Charles Singer, priest of the diocese of Strasbourg, died on Friday February 3 at the age of 82.

Ordained a priest in 1966, he became chaplain at the Lycée de Neudorf (Bas-Rhin). It was at this time that he created the “young people’s mass”, celebrated every month in the chapel of the Strasbourg college of Saint-Étienne. Father Etienne Uberall remembers it well. “It was an institution, it brought together a lot of people. This opened us up to beauty, to the liturgy. »

Accompanied by Jean-Pierre Kempf in the musical composition, his texts were sung by a choir of about fifty young people. The chapel was full for many years. “Like the morning star”, “God is waiting”, “People of light”… “His texts are still very much sung today”, assures Father Uberall.

Multiple interests

Some time later, Charles Singer takes care of the communication of his diocese and becomes director of Alsace Media. Very attached to photography, he brings a new look, “an aesthetic aspect”. “He was very attentive to the image”, emphasizes the Strasbourg priest.

Charles Singer seeks to bring artists into churches. He thus created the Chemins d’art sacré festival, where he allowed contemporary artists to exhibit their works in the region’s churches.

A figure in the cultural milieu of the 1970s and 1980s, the priest was also a poet, author of numerous collections. “He was very attentive to everything, details Father Uberall. It opened up a lot of perspectives for us. His funeral was celebrated on February 9 in the Saint-Benoît church in Strasbourg-Hautepierre.

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