Odile de Vasselot, a member of the French Resistance during the Second World War and a dedicated nun, has died at the age of 103.
At just 18 years old in 1940, Odile felt an immediate urge to act against the Nazis. "It was impossible to do nothing with those large flags bearing the swastika," she recalled in 2023. Banners in German and Vichy propaganda were everywhere.
Determined to resist and oppose the occupiers, Odile declared to herself, "I want to do it!" Even though she was unsure how a young woman from a "good family" could contribute, her mind was set.
Both courageous and unaware of the dangers, she became a liaison agent, escorting escaped prisoners and allied airmen across France. She repeatedly avoided arrest.
In 1947, Odile joined the Saint-François-Xavier Apostolic community, dedicating 30 years to teaching in Africa.
Born on 6 January 1922, Odile grew up in a patriotic noble family. Her father and grandfather, both military men, frequently spoke of Charles de Gaulle and his ideas on armoured warfare.
From the family château in western France, Odile listened to General de Gaulle’s iconic “Appeal of 18 June” broadcast urging French resistance.
With her father imprisoned in Germany, Odile’s mother took the family to Paris. There, Odile and her sisters started by tearing down German posters.
On 11 November 1940, Odile demonstrated her resistance by wearing a tricolour pompom and joining students on the Champs-Élysées, defying a curfew.
By late 1942, Odile was undertaking more serious resistance efforts. Contacted by Madame Poirier of the Zéro network, she was asked if she was ready to travel to Toulouse on a night train that Friday.
Frightened but determined, she accepted her mission as a courier, regularly travelling south, carrying packages with unknown contents.
When the Zéro network was dismantled in April 1943, Odile joined the Comet Line, helping allied airmen downed in Belgium return to Britain via Spain.
On 4 January 1944, she narrowly escaped capture when the Gestapo arrested two Englishmen she was accompanying. To destroy evidence, she ate the ticket stubs from her pocket.
Odile found solace in God amid the risks she faced, and in August 1944, she participated in the liberation of Paris, narrowly escaping death again.
After the war, Odile earned a history degree from the Sorbonne and taught with the Saint-François-Xavier community. From 1959 to 1988, she worked in Abidjan, founding the Sainte-Marie college and high school.
Returning to France, Odile passionately educated young students about her experiences and the values of patriotism.
She often expressed her lifelong mission to impart "the love of country, rejection of the intolerable, empathy, and respect for cultures," continuing to be a "conveyor" through her storytelling, long after her days in the Resistance.
