Easter 1971: in Lourdes, the pilgrimage that would give birth to Faith and Light took place. Making it possible was an immense undertaking that, in just three years, brought twelve thousand people to the grotto. Countless aspects demanded organization: fundraising, practical questions of transport and hospitality, spiritual animation, medical care, communications strategy. Within that last category, a pressing need emerged: find a distinctive logo capable of conveying at once the meaning of the pilgrimage and making its participants recognizable. A logo that would accompany Faith and Light on every occasion to come.
To that end, a contest was announced—open only to people with intellectual disabilities. The results, however, were deeply disappointing. Someone then suggested reaching out to Meb, a thirty-five-year-old painter of some renown (he made his living from his work), a figure in the Art Brut et Singulier movement, who had Down syndrome.
Meb had begun painting in his teens, and his works—a mixture of arabesques, brilliant light, and chromatic combinations with a Spanish flavor—immediately captured the attention of family and acquaintances. His first exhibition in France in 1963 was a great success. At that time, Eugène Ionesco wrote: "I have seen the works of a boy, of a man, whom people call handicapped. (…) You must see how rich, how disturbing, how singular his world is. It is impossible to draw a line of demarcation between the normal and the abnormal. No such line exists. Or else we are all mad, we are beings congenitally alienated because we cannot understand anything of this wave, since the greatest scientist knows little more than the most ignorant. (…) He is defenseless like us, but in a different way." A book about Marc Eberschweiler (known as Meb) appeared in France shortly after, later translated into Italian under the title Meb, Joyful Painter (Città Nuova 1983). Its author, Marie-Louise Eberschweiler, recounted her son's life, his growth, the discovery of his talent, the obstacles and joys he faced. Meb was a cheerful and colorful person; he died in 1988 at just fifty-two years old.
Returning to the foundational pilgrimage of Faith and Light: Marie-Hélène Mathieu—the pilgrimage's visionary and organizer, and founder of Faith and Light alongside Jean Vanier—went to meet Meb at his mother's home. She told him the story of the pilgrimage, its meaning and purpose, and at the end of her presentation asked him for a work, a drawing capable of conveying to people, simply and directly, what the movement meant. The artist listened with great attention but said nothing, meditating in silence. Then he made his decision: he asked his mother to read him the pilgrimage's charter and, shutting himself in his studio, set to work.
Self-taught and unable to count, Meb drew a boat carrying twelve small figures. No oars. No sails. The sky, heavy with threatening clouds, is split open by a brilliant sun. The waves are high, but they calm as they approach the vessel. Jesus, Meb explained to Mathieu, sleeps at the bottom of the boat—there is no need to be afraid. He watches over the passengers. We are in a boat, moving together, sometimes the sea rages, sometimes it lies flat: Meb had understood everything.
The drawing was adopted unanimously by the pilgrimage's organizing committee and for nearly half a century now has accompanied Faith and Light on its journey.