‘Thanks to John Paul II, my father always kept hope alive,’ Jérôme Lejeune’s daughter says

On June 22, Pope Leo XIV received members of the Lejeune Foundation in an audience marking the centenary of the birth of Jérôme Lejeune, the physician who discovered the cause of Down syndrome. He maintained a close relationship with St. John Paul II, who appointed him the first president of the Pontifical Academy for Life in 1994.

Karin Lejeune, his daughter, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, that her father’s friendship with the Polish pontiff was key to maintaining hope during the most difficult moments of his life.

“It’s important to know that my father went through a real Calvary after the [French] abortion law was passed. He was ostracized by society and, I dare say, by the Church in France; the scientific community, and the entire French ‘political correctness’ establishment,” she said.

“They even withdrew research funding for his laboratory. So, it was a truly difficult time. And thanks to that friendship, I believe he held on, that he always kept hope alive,” she added.

“These two men shared a common desire to serve the poorest, those whom my father called the most disadvantaged in terms of intellect, namely, children with…