About L'Arche

From the founding of one small home in France in 1964, there are now 135 L'Arche communities spread across Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.  L'Arche communities share a common creed rooted in mutual respect, relationships and spirituality.

History of L'Arche
L'Arche Charter
Our Mission & Identity


“Our community life is beautiful and intense, a source of life for everyone. People with a handicap experience a real transformation and discover confidence in themselves; they discover their capacity to make choices, and also find a certain liberty and above all their dignity as human beings. The young and those less young, single and married, those with and without formal education, who commit on their part for a year or longer, they too experience a real transformation; they discover a place that gives meaning to their lives and their capacity to love and live out compassion and give life to others.”

-- Jean Vanier. Founder of L'Arche







"I believe that those we most often exclude from the normal life of society, people with disabilities, have profound lessons to teach us. When we do include them, they add richly to our lives and add immensely to our world."

-- Jean Vanier