Philosopher, poet, artist, catholic and nonviolent activist. A western disciple of Mohandas K. Gandhi, he worked for inter-religious dialogue, spiritual renewal, ecological activism and nonviolence.
In December 1936, Lanza went to India, joining the movement for Indian independence led by Gandhi. He spent six months with the Mahatma, then in June 1937, went to the source of the Ganges river in the Himalayas, a famous pilgrimage site. There he saw a vision who told him “Go back and found!” He left then India and went back to Europe. In 1938, he went to Palestine, then in the midst of civil war, to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, “between two lines of tanks”.
He came back to Paris at the time when the Second World War started. He wrote some poetry books and in 1943 he published the story of his trip to India, Return to the Source, which became a huge success.
He founded the Community of the Ark in 1948 which first met a lot of difficulties. In 1962 the Community of the Ark settled in Haut-Languedoc, in the south of France, at the Borie Noble, near Lodève, in a deserted village.
He remained a leading figure in many non-violent movements until his death. he was critizised for the traditional role of women in his movement, and for his expressed oppostion to homosexuality.
He died on 5 January 1981, at age 79.

Link to Wikipedia biography