Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

We have seen how Eugene was inspired to change our name and the importance of this for our understanding of our identity. With this Papal Brief, the change was officially recognized and we can say thatthe Church gave us the name of Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

POPE LEO XII

FOR FUTURE REMEMBRANCE OF THE MATTER

This being the situation, Our dear son Charles Joseph Eugene de Mazenod, Vicar General of the Bishop of Marseilles, Provost of the Chapter of the Canons of the Cathedral, and Founder of the said Society, has presented to Us a petition, humbly requesting Us, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, to approve by Our Apostolic Authority, both this family and its Rules, and to honour it with the title of Missionary Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary, so that it may not be confused with those other Societies which also bear the name of Oblates of St. Charles.

Therefore, having taken into consideration that this Society was enriched with indulgences by Pius VII, Our Predecessor, and by Ourselves, that its great usefulness has been recognised by many Bishops, and that it will prove of considerable aid and enrichment to the Church in her afflicted condition … We hereby with a ready and willing mind, establish it, and wish it to be known by the name of the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, conceived without sin.

…Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, under the Fisherman’s Ring, on the twenty first day of March, 1826, in the third year of Our Pontificate.

Pope Leo XII

Apostolic Letter of Approbation, 21 March 1826, Missions O.M.I., n° 280 (1952), pp. 568 ff.

In biblical thought, the concept of a “name” is so much more significant than phonetics. To know the “name” is to know the essence, character, or nature of a person. If a person has different names, they represent different aspects of his nature. When there is a substantial change in a person’s identity, there is also a change of name. (stpaulcenter.com/posts/the-power-and-purpose-of-names-in-scripture)

 … This Society has for its aim the following objects: its members, who are bound by simple but perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and perseverance in the Institute itself, (from which vows they cannot be dispensed except by the Superior General or the Roman Pontiff).

…Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, under the Fisherman’s Ring, on the twenty first day of March, 1826, in the third year of Our Pontificate.

Pope Leo XII. Apostolic Letter of Approbation

From the beginning Eugene had realized the need for a permanent commitment for the members of the Missionary Society. Initially he and Henri Tempier made this commitment on Holy Thursday 1816. Two years later, all the Missionaries pronounced vows.

These, however, had no legal standing in the Church and were regarded as private vows. These few lines in the Papal Brief showed that the Church recognized that the Oblates were a legal Institute of Consecrated Life within the Church. Once lifetime vows had been made, it was only the Pope who could dispense the Oblate from his obligations. If they were temporary vows, only the Superior General could grant a dispensation. Our oblation binds us to the Church which is the Body of Christ.

Over the years, many members of our Charismatic Family have felt the need to make some form of public commitment as Lay Associates. They are not vows, but an expression of the seriousness of their desire to live their lives in the spirit of St Eugene and the Oblate charism. Being made in public adds the element of accountability to the faith community.

POPE LEO XII

FOR FUTURE REMEMBRANCE OF THE MATTER

 The astonishing success however, with which Divine Providence was pleased to crown their efforts could not long remain hidden, and when the news of it began to spread, many of the neighbouring Bishops sought to secure these missionaries for their own dioceses, hoping thereby to give the fullest assistance to their own flocks. And so, the missionaries, favoured as they were by divine blessings, redoubled their efforts to follow in the footsteps of the saints, to toil earnestly in the pursuit of their own perfection, while at the same time labouring with all their heart for the salvation of souls.

And when the time finally came for them to go to different dioceses to announce the call to repentance, they decided to draw up constitutions and rules to serve as a bond of union and as a bulwark of protection for the infant Society. And they chose for themselves the title of Missionary Oblates of St. Charles, although up till then they had been commonly known as the Missionaries of Provence.

…Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, under the Fisherman’s Ring, on the twenty first day of March, 1826, in the third year of Our Pontificate.

Pope Leo XII

Apostolic Letter of Approbation, 21 March 1826, Missions O.M.I., n° 280 (1952), p. 568 ff.

The Church was recognizing and approving the missionary methods of the Oblates, which Eugene had envisioned from the beginning:

They are convinced that if priests could be formed, afire with zeal for men’s salvation, priests not given to their own interests, solidly grounded in virtue – in a word, apostolic men deeply conscious of the need to reform themselves, who would labor with all the resources at their command to convert others – then there would be ample reason to believe that in a short while people who had gone astray might be brought back to their long-unrecognized responsibilities. “Take great care about what you do and what you teach,” was Paul’s charge to Timothy, “Always do this, and thus you will save both yourself and those who listen to you” (1 Tim 4: 16).

Preface of the CCRR

Initially we were only priests, then we evolved into religious as brothers and priests, and now we have evolved into an enlarged Oblate Family – each of us expressing our zeal for the salvation of souls according to our state of life and particular ministry.

POPE LEO XII

FOR FUTURE REMEMBRANCE OF THE MATTER…

… It is now eleven years since Our Predecessor, Pius VII, of happy memory, shortly after he had by God’s protection guided back to port the storm tossed vessel of the Church safe and sound, openly stated that, due to the disorders of Church and State in France, preachers of the Gospel were needed for the work of recalling to the right path of salvation the sheep that had gone astray. And it was but a short time afterwards that a small band of priests was formed in the diocese of Aix, in Provence, in southern France, to undertake this sacred ministry…

…Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, under the Fisherman’s Ring, on the twenty first day of March, 1826, in the third year of Our Pontificate. Pope Leo XII

Apostolic Letter of Approbation, 21 March 1826, Missions O.M.I., n° 280 (1952), pp. 568ff.

Eugene’s response to the storms the Church was facing, was his founding vision for us:

The sight of these evils has so touched the hearts of certain priests, zealous for the glory of God, men with an ardent love for the Church, that they are willing to give their lives, if need be, for the salvation of souls.

Preface of the CCRR

POPE LEO XII

FOR FUTURE REMEMBRANCE OF THE MATTER

If there ever was a time when this Apostolic See endeavored to encourage and support by every means at its command the zeal of those priests, who, burning with the fire of holy love, preach the Gospel throughout the whole world, and labor to implant in the minds of people the precepts and duties of the Christian religion and to instruct the people to be subject to lawful authority, We think of no more fitting occasion to do this than at the present when crimes of every kind, issuing like hideous monsters from the dark recesses of the past, again rear their heads and boldly spread their ravages from day to day, threatening to overthrow all rights, human and divine, and completely to efface, were it possible, every vestige of religion…

… Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, under the Fisherman’s Ring, on the twenty first day of March, 1826, in the third year of Our Pontificate.

Pope Leo XII

Apostolic Letter of Approbation, 21 March 1826, Missions O.M.I., n° 280 (1952), pp. 568ff.

This echoes Eugene’s analysis of the situation of French Christians after the Revolution which impelled him to respond by creating the Oblates to reform the situation at close quarters.

The Church, that glorious inheritance purchased by Christ the Savior at the cost of his own blood, has in our days been cruelly ravaged. The beloved spouse of God’s only begotten Son is torn with anguish as she mourns the shameful defection of the children she herself bore. Christians, but apostates, and utterly mindless of God’s blessings, they provoke divine justice by their crimes….

Faced with such a deplorable situation, the Church earnestly appeals to the ministers whom she herself enrolled in the cause of her divine Spouse, to do all in their power, by word and example, to rekindle the flame of faith that has all but died in the hearts of so many of her children.

Preface of the CCRR

After nearly four months of hectic activity, Eugene could announce that the text of the brief of approval was ready to be signed by the Pope! Mission accomplished!

APOSTOLIC LETTER OF APPROBATION GIVEN TO THE INSTITUTE, RULES AND CONSTITUTIONS OF THE MISSIONARY OBLATES OF THE MOST HOLY AND IMMACULATE VIRGIN MARY. BY OUR HOLY FATHER LEO XII. BY DIVINE PROVIDENCE, POPE

Announcing this to Henri Tempier:

I want to finish my letter today so that it can leave tomorrow. The text of the brief has been made ready; Mgr. Capaccini is taking it with him to be signed by the Pope. Perhaps it has been done by now, I have nothing more to do.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 20 March 1826, EO VII n 231

 With this recognition, the Oblates could now face the future on a solid foundation, no matter what obstacles were placed in their way by external forces. The two centuries of the missionary achievements of our Oblate Family have proved this.

Because of the historical importance of this document, I will publish it in segments in the coming days.

At first, they thought that we were only asking for France, and the Cardinal ponent told me, “Accept that, and the rest will follow.” I did not agree with him, and the matter was settled according to our wishes. I must say that it was enough for me to point out that our Congregation did not limit its charity to a small corner of the earth, and that all abandoned souls, wherever they might be, would always be the object of its zeal and would be entitled to its services, and that my opinion was accepted.

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 20 March 1826, EO VII n. 231

 Today the Oblate Charismatic family is present in around 70 countries – thanks to Eugene’s zeal continued through his missionaries.

The more I think about our case, the more I recognize the hand of God in it, and His action has also been recognized by all those who have been the instruments of His mercy upon us.

To think that we are the only ones favored in this way, and that it is the Pope who has done everything. …Not only does the Pope approve our Congregation, but he also establishes it: “Constituimus”

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 20 March 1826, EO VII n. 231

 May we truly understand who we are! I hope that the Lord will grant us this grace, with the assistance and protection of our holy Mother, the Immaculate Mary, to whom we must have great devotion in our Congregation. Does it not seem to you that it is a sign of predestination to bear the name of Oblates of Mary, that is, consecrated to God under the patronages of Mary, whose name the Congregation bears, like a family name shared with the most holy and Immaculate Mother of God?

It is enough to make others jealous, but it is the Church that has given us this beautiful title, and we receive it with respect, love, and gratitude, proud of our dignity and the rights it gives us to the protection of the Almighty before God. Let us not delay any longer in using this beautiful name

Letter to Fr. Tempier in Marseilles, 20 March 1826, EO VII n. 231