A Capuchin monk since 1932 and an ordained Catholic clergyman since 1938, Henri Groues died in 2007 aged 94. He left behind a legacy as a friend to the poverty-stricken and founder of the charities Emmaus and the Abbe Pierre Foundation.

On Wednesday, however, it was revealed that seven women had made allegations of sexual assault or harassment by the elderly cleric dating back to between 1970 and 2005.

"Our organisations celebrate the courage of the people who have given testimony and, through their words, allowed these facts to come to light. We believe them," homeless charity Emmaus and the abbot's foundation said in a joint statement.

The allegations are detailed in an independent report commissioned by the charities after a first claim that Groues had assaulted a woman.

"This work meant the testimonies of seven women could be gathered, attesting to behaviour that could be interpreted as sexual assault or sexual harassment," between 1970 and 2005, the charities said.

One of the women "was underage at the time of the events", they added.

A source at Emmaus told AFP that no criminal complaint had so far been filed.

In a social media post the bishop's conference of France's Catholic Church expressed "shame that such acts could be committed by a priest".

- 'I need it' -

Some 17 years after his death, Groues remains a familiar sight on charity shops posters and in metro stations urging French people to think of the poor.

He gave his inheritance away aged 18 to join the order of Capuchin monks, later becoming active in the Resistance to Nazi occupation and spending several post-war years as a member of parliament.

In 1949, he founded the Emmaus community that preaches self-help for excluded people, which has since spread to dozens of countries.

He was also a backer of the "Restos du coeur" soup kitchens movement and clashed with city authorities that failed to lodge the homeless.

The report's author Caroline de Haas said she had gathered testimony pointing to "inappropriate behaviour of a personal nature, a sexual proposition, repeated comments with sexual connotations, attempts at unsolicited physical contact and unsolicited contact on the breasts".

One of the women reported that Abbe Pierre had "started groping her left breast" while she was "at the foot of the stairs" in a hallway.

She said that a few years later she approached him in an office.

"I walked up to him to shake his hand. He tried to pull me towards the window. I told him 'No, Father'. He told me, 'I need it'. I said: 'No', and he left," she told the investigation.

- 'Idolatry' -

Another woman said Abbe Pierre would "put his hands on her chest, breasts" while they "were talking about work".

And another stated that, one day, "when saying goodbye, he inserted his tongue into my mouth in a brutal and totally unexpected way".

De Haas said the investigation had triggered rising astonishment that Abbe Pierre's behaviour had gone unexposed for so long.

She pointed to a "form of influence fuelled by the age difference, the status of Abbe Pierre and a form of idolatry, or the situation of subordination between him and the people."

After the initial complaints had been heard, a confidential system for gathering evidence was put in place at three associations.

The Abbe Pierre Foundation's managing director Christophe Robert described the revelations as "a terrible shock".

He said the organisation decided to "shed light" on the allegations and "give a voice to these victims".