On Monday September 28, the Institut Pasteur held a commemorative ceremony to mark the 131st anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, an event for the entire Institut Pasteur community to remember Louis Pasteur, the man and the scientist.
 

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On Monday, Yves Saint-Geours, Chairman of the Institut Pasteur Board of Governors, came together with staff to celebrate the memory of "a visionary figure who served science and paved the way for future scientific progress, in the public interest and for the benefit of society." The event was also an opportunity to highlight the fact that since 2007, World Rabies Day has taken place every year on September 28, a date that points to the major impact of Louis Pasteur's scientific research on improvements to health.

This commemorative ceremony is an important opportunity for the Institut Pasteur community to join together around a shared identity. Yves Saint-Geours introduced the event by describing it as "an annual ritual aimed at sharing values and building and developing a community around a major figure known both in France and around the world." 
 

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Louis Pasteur embodied scientific – and French – excellence and was deeply committed to science, education and sharing knowledge for the benefit of health. In 1886, he announced that he wanted to build an institute for science, healthcare and knowledge transfer. The Institut Pasteur Articles of Association were filed in June 1887, and the institute was inaugurated a year and a half later, in November 1888. The Institut Pasteur journey had begun, based around a strong message that still resonates today: independent science that knows no borders.

Nearly 140 years later, Louis Pasteur's values and approach continue to guide the entire Institut Pasteur community as it champions science and the central role of science in society, even when faced with "an ocean of complexities and major challenges."

To close, Yves Saint-Geours emphasized how important it is "to continue producing outstanding science and to bring society on board with this ambition. Now more than ever, as we grapple with the implications of conspiracy theories, we need to fight for health and uphold Pasteurian values in support of research freedom. It is our duty to defend these values."

A minute's silence was observed by the bust of Louis Pasteur in the hall of the Emile Duclaux building.
 

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The attendees then went to the other side of campus for a second moment of reflection at Dr. Emile Roux's tomb, as is the tradition.

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Ceremony's photos : ©Agnès Bourdet, Franck Fromet

Photo : Portrait de Louis Pasteur et de son petit-fils, Louis Pasteur Vallery-Radot. Photo Petit, 1892.