François-Xavier Maigre (1982) was born in Saintes, in western France. He graduated from the École Supérieure de Journalisme in Paris and worked in the newspaper La Croix from 2008 to 2014, covering the news from the Eastern churches and the orthodox world. His journalist investigations have taken him to various places, such as Russia, Turkey, Kossovo, Greece, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Being an avid traveler, in 2012 he wrote and published a book about his 450-km journey by donkey from Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel, with the title “Sur la trace de l’archange – 450 Kilometres à pied jusqu’au Mont-Saint-Michel” (“In the footsteps of the Archangel – 450 kilometers on foot to Mont-Saint-Michel”, publ. by Bayard). In 2014, he became editor-in-chief of the monthly Panorama magazine, which presents a Christian perspective on culture and contemporary issues, with a strong ecumenical outlook. His first collection of poems “Dans la poinge du vent” (In the grip of the wind, publ. by Bruno Dussey, 2012) stands as an example of his quest for finding spirituality with a human face. In 2017, he and Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche and a pioneer in helping change the way society views handicapped persons, jointly authored and published “Un cri se fut entendre – Mon chemin vers le paix” (“A cry is heard – My path to peace”, publ. by Bayard), a book that is partly a call to action, pointing out the fact that to find true peace, we must first come to terms and accept our human weaknesses.