The article analysis the role of a writer committed to spreading moral and religious values and who, through popular sports novels, deciphers the signs concerning the spreading of ideological messages by Catholic intellectuals or those in charge of charity work. Following the trend of Catholic writers who wished to re-establish religion in France through complementary intellectual actions alongside social Catholicism, the author of the novel Jacques Mornève, Jean Lestrac, showed his originality by writing sports novels between 1925 and 1928 for a working-class readership. Structured around the conflict between clergy and the secular world, and situated within the patronages, his work was of interest to those in charge of Catholic sport, who offered him space in the patronages’ mouthpiece, Les Jeunes, to deliver an apostolic message. After being censored, Lestrac provided a toned-down, neutral text that was more in line with the aims of Catholic sport. His novels focused on the theme of religious conversion, while praising the feats of ordinary sportsmen and women and highlighting the obstinacy of curates.
