Author Archives: franksantucci

Can I forget the bitter tears that the sight of the cross brought streaming from my eyes one Good Friday? “Can I forget … the sight of the cross?” asks Eugene, and the peace that flowed into his life as … Continue reading →

… we pronounced our vows with an indescribable joy. We savoured our happiness throughout this beautiful night, in the presence of Our Lord, at the foot of the magnificent throne where we had placed Him for the Mass of the … Continue reading →

Less than three months after Eugene and his first companions had come to live in community, two of them felt the need to make a more definitive consecration of themselves to God. Eugene recalled: Briefly put. Father Tempier and I … Continue reading →

As we look with shock and sadness at the destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral, we give thanks for the generosity of so many who have come forward with generous pledges of cash to rebuild and restore this heritage site, and … Continue reading →

The Oblate community was Eugene’s constant point of reference, and he missed it whenever he was separated from it. His model for our religious missionary life was that of Jesus and the apostles. For him our communities were meant to … Continue reading →

Eugene had made his first communion on Holy Thursday at the College of Nobles in Turin. It was always an important moment for him to recall the joy of this important event. Antoine Ricard, who had been a diocesan seminarian … Continue reading →

As the novices prepare for their first retreat, it is in the light of the Rule that their vocation has to be presented. The house superior was to be the retreat preacher. What I want is that in retreat talks, … Continue reading →

Being the one ultimately responsible for the spirit and mission of the Oblates and for the welfare of each one, Eugene, as Superior General,  had vetted two of the young men who wanted to enter the novitiate and become Oblates. … Continue reading →

The novitiate year, at that time the first step in the process of becoming an Oblate, had been transferred to the house of Aix. The newly-appointed novice master was the 24 year-old Casimir Aubert. In this regard, Eugene wrote to … Continue reading →

One of the earliest ends of the Missionaries in 1818 had been to work for the reform of priests, especially after the ravages of the Revolution. Sixteen years later we find that this is still the case and that our … Continue reading →