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Gabriel Rosset was born in November 1904, in Isère, France, and died in Lyon on December 30, 1974. He co-founded the Foyer Notre-Dame des Sans-Abri in Lyon. A diocesan inquiry was launched for his beatification and canonization in 2006. This lengthy procedure is now nearing completion.
Rosset is the man who helped to reduce the number of slums in Lyon. In 20 years, 1,500 housing units were built in Lyon and its suburbs thanks to his action.
Rosset went on to hold various positions as a lay teacher. On May 24, 1950, together with Georges Belleville and Henri Tournissou, he founded the Foyer Notre-Dame des Sans-Abri, in response to the many deaths of homeless single men spending the night under Lyon's bridges. Rosset distributed blankets to them and took some of them into his home.
On Christmas Eve 1950, Rosset and a small team opened the doors of the organization's first shelter in a disused café and bar in Guillotière. They took in 11 men the first night at the Café du Monde Nouveau, but soon the premises became too cramped.
He then built the current facility on Père Chevrier street. With two large dormitories where a hundred or so single men can find clean sheets, food and washing facilities. They are also assisted by volunteers who help them find work. Gabriel Rosset founded several more homeless shelters, which he placed under the protection of the Virgin Mary.
With the help of donors, land was purchased to build housing for families crammed into the slum areas of the Lyon suburbs. In 20 years, 1,500 homes were built in Lyon and its suburbs.