Monseigneur Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel was previously referred to in this book as M. Myriel. Here we are given the reason why the people of Digne took to calling him Bienvenu, which translated means something like welcome.
We have two events that comprise the heart of this chapter. the first details how Myriel / Bienvenu saw the needs of the hospital and swapped his palatial residence with that of the much smaller and more meager hospital. The second tells us of how M. Myriel’s annual stipend of 15000 francs plus an additional 3000 francs for carriage expenses was used. Rather than spending that amount on himself, his sister and their companion, he kept a meager 1000 francs and added it to his sisters annual stipend of 500 and they lived off of that amount. The rest was dispersed in various different forms of charity, ensuring that he really was creating an atmosphere of welcome and invitation for the people of the town and surrounding environs.
The picture we get of M. Bienvenu is one of a true follower of Christ, not someone after their own gain or the exploitation of those who would follow. We see someone who takes seriously the call to give what you can joyfully and liberally while trusting that God will provide and care for you continually. Throughout the new testament we see Jesus and his lifestyle contrasted with the ostentatious means and methods of the religious leaders of his day. Here Myriel / Bienvenu seems to be very intentionally following in the footsteps of Jesus for the best of reasons - he saw a clear need and he had the means to try and do something about it.
At the end of the chapter we are told that more and more money started to flow through Myriel as people who had came to give to provide for those who did not have. Beautiful as that picture may be we are also told that like dry and thirsty ground the needs of the people were far beyond anything Bienvenu and the faithful of Digne could provide for. This is our first real glimpse of the broader systemic inequity at play during the period of our story. We’ve had nods toward the aristocracy and the contrast between Bienvenu’s living and other Bishops and priests, but here we see just how dire things are for those who do not have. We get the idea that individuals giving everything they could would never be enough to totally fix the problem, for the problem is deeply systemic and endemic to the social order.
Despite that Bienvenu is committed to being a part of the solution. His generosity is a beautiful picture of what the life of those who proport to represent God on earth ought to be like.