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 Father Henri Didon 2000 Aerogramme Father Henri Didon was a French Dominican preacher, writer, and educator, born in 1840 in Le Touvet, France. The aerogramme shown above, issued on June 19, 2000 to commemorate the centenary of his death in 1900, features his connection to the Olympic Games. The postal indicia in the upper right hand corner pictures the Olympic flag waving in the wind and the papal coat of arms. On the left is an image of Father Didon and, in the background, four runners in a race. The image is framed on the left and top by the words of the Olympic Motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius (meaning Faster, Higher, Stronger). 
 Period Photographs of Father Henri Didon (1893) and Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1912) From Wikimedia Commons (in the public domain) Father Didon was a promoter of youth sports. In 1891, he coined the motto for a youth sports competition. His friend, Pierre de Coubertin, who was assisting Didon at the event, proposed that this motto be adopted as the official theme for the International Olympic Committee in 1894. It was first used at the inaugural games of the modern Olympiad in 1896 in Athens. Father Didon was a dynamic and charismatic speaker whose strong physical features and oratory abilities made him a sought-after speaker in France. However, his personality and views on Church teachings at times put him in conflict with the religious hierarchy. As stated in the UFN announcement, he "dealt with all the topics concerning the society of the time with an ardor sometimes judged to be excessive by his superiors". In 1880, as a result of some of his orthodox but extreme orations, he was assigned (some would say exiled) to Corsica, during which time he compiled his most well-known work, Life of Christ. Father Didon returned to France in 1887 and completed a number of books and writings on theology and education. He briefly returned to preaching from 1892 to 1894, but devoted most of his time to the education of youth until his death in 1900. REFERENCES: |
