Monthly Archives: April 2017

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 →

Eugene’s priest friend, Forbin Janson, had gone to visit Rome and Eugene continued his battle of regularizing the festering division in the Archdiocese of Aix, by appealing to him to inform the Cardinals in Rome. Tell them clearly that the … Continue reading →

There was division in the Archdiocese of Aix between those who had been faithful to the Bishop and those who had not recognized his authority – which had come from Napoleon and not from the Pope. Eugene clearly sided with … Continue reading →

Bishop Jauffret, who had been Bishop of the city of Metz, was appointed in 1811 by Napoleon to act as Archbishop of Aix – without the consent of the Pope. Eugene never accepted this irregular situation and always referred to … Continue reading →

On 4 April 1814, Napoleon was forced to abdicate and the Bourbon monarch was restored under King Louis XVIII. The historian and biographer, Jean Leflon describes the reaction to the fall of Napoleon in France and especially in Provence: “The … Continue reading →