Institut culturel et technique d'utilité sociale (Ichtus)

Ichtus (also styled ICTUS) is a French Catholic lay association dedicated to the civic engagement of lay Catholics. Its full historical name, Institut culturel et technique d'utilité sociale, reflects its origins as a formation institute, while its current legal name is Ichtus au service de la Cité. Based in Paris at 49, rue des Renaudes in the 17th arrondissement, the association is known informally as "Rue des Renaudes." It offers high-level training programmes in Catholic social doctrine, anthropology, history, culture and political philosophy, organises summer universities for young people, and publishes the quarterly review Permanences. Its stated mission is to "former, relier, agir" — to train, connect and act — in service of the common good. Ichtus is the direct heir of La Cité catholique, a movement founded in 1946 by Jean Ousset, and of the Office international des œuvres de formation civique et d'action culturelle selon le droit naturel et chrétien. The Institut culturel et technique d'utilité sociale (ICTUS) was created in 1981 as a successor body focused on training the leaders of the Œuvre. In 1997 it became the Centre de formation à l'action civique et culturelle selon le droit naturel et chrétien, and in 2006 it adopted the name ICHTUS for greater visibility. The association Montalza was renamed "Ichtus au service de la Cité" on 1 July 2006. Politically, Ichtus is widely described by French media as close to the Catholic traditionalist and far-right milieu, a characterisation it has sought to nuance by emphasising its recentring on the Church's social doctrine. Its members and leaders have been active in conservative causes such as anti-abortion, anti-same-sex-marriage and anti-euthanasia movements. Guillaume de Prémare, a former president of La Manif pour tous, is among its figures. The association maintains a network of specialised satellites and a historic link to the review Permanences, first published by the Office. Its annual cycles, including the Mardis d'Ichtus and Apprendre à voir, continue to draw participants in Paris and online.

Ichtus traces its lineage to La Cité catholique, an association founded in 1946 notably by the Maurrassian Jean Ousset. La Cité catholique was conceived as a school for Catholic cadres, aiming to enlighten, inspire and animate all that could promote an authentically French — and therefore Catholic — renaissance in the temporal order. In 1953 Pope Pius XII granted it his apostolic blessing and encouraged the study of the Church's social doctrine, a support echoed by several bishops, including the Archbishop of Reims, Louis-Augustin Marmottin, and the Bishop of Dijon, Guillaume Sembel. In 1963 the movement was renamed Office international des œuvres de formation civique et d'action doctrinale selon le droit naturel et chrétien, later changing "doctrinale" to "culturelle." The Office was neither a Catholic Action movement nor a confessional party but a training centre led by laypeople, structured in cells, publishing the monthly review Permanences, and organising an annual congress in Lausanne that gathered dozens of international movements and organisations. In April 1968 the congress, with 2,700 participants, took "Le sens de l'histoire" as its theme. Several associations succeeded this centre. The Institut culturel et technique d'utilité sociale (ICTUS) was created in 1981, initially focused on the general formation of the Œuvre's leaders. The association Montalza was renamed "Ichtus au service de la Cité" on 1 July 2006. Specialised satellites developed by field of responsibility, supported by a network including the Centre d'étude des entreprises, the Action familiale et scolaire, a Comité des étudiants pour les libertés universitaires (CELU) and the Centre d'étude et de recherche des cadres. The writer and philosopher Gustave Thibon was a fellow traveller, participating in the congresses of the Office and then of ICTUS between 1965 and 1985 and writing numerous articles for Permanences. In 1962 he signed, alongside Marshal Alphonse Juin and General Maxime Weygand, a declaration in Verbe deploring the "denigrations and moral aggressions" suffered by La Cité catholique. To emphasise action and networking over purely intellectual work, ICTUS transformed in 1997 into the Centre de formation à l'action civique et culturelle selon le droit naturel et chrétien, which in 2006 adopted the name ICHTUS for greater visibility. Jean Ousset, until the end of his life, devoted himself to "cultural combat," convinced in a Gramscian perspective that the conquest of political power requires first the conquest of ideological and cultural power. The association's current full name is "Ichtus au service de la Cité," located at 49, rue des Renaudes in Paris, hence its usual name "Rue des Renaudes." At the 2019 colloquium, the sending Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Barbarin.

• 2019

  Colloquium sending Mass celebrated by Cardinal Barbarin.

• 2006

  Adopts the name ICHTUS; Montalza renamed 'Ichtus au service de la Cité' on 1 July.

• 1997

  ICTUS transforms into Centre de formation à l'action civique et culturelle selon le droit naturel et chrétien.

• 1981

  Institut culturel et technique d'utilité sociale (ICTUS) created.

• 1968

  Lausanne congress with 2,700 participants on 'Le sens de l'histoire'.

• 1963

  Renamed Office international des œuvres de formation civique et d'action doctrinale selon le droit naturel et chrétien.

• 1953

  Pope Pius XII grants apostolic blessing to La Cité catholique.

• 1946

  La Cité catholique founded notably by Jean Ousset.

Catholic lay formation and civic engagement organisation rooted in the Church's social doctrine, historically linked to traditionalist and far-right circles.

• Mardis d'Ichtus

  Annual conference cycle in Paris, also streamed and available as replay, with documentation and Permanences review.

• Apprendre à voir

  Cultural cycle in three independent sessions on painting, sculpture and architecture.

• Permanences

  Quarterly review to enlighten Catholics on major political, social, cultural and civilisational challenges.

1. 1Accueil - Ichtusichtus.fr
2. 2Archives des Histoire - Ichtusichtus.fr
3. 3Découvrir Ichtus - Ichtusichtus.fr
4. 4Institut culturel et technique d'utilité sociale - Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5ICHTUS - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org