Author Archives: franksantucci

Academic demands and Congregational commitments since the passing of Fr David Muñoz have multiplied and I am finding it difficult to keep up with new entries of St Eugene Speaks. To give me some catch-up time of a few weeks, … Continue reading →

Writing to Bishop Guigues, Eugene shared his optimism about the Oblate presence in England, and its chances of expansion. We are making giant strides. Apart from the novitiate which we are soon to have in England, as well as a … Continue reading →

For Eugene the establishment and growth of the Oblates in England and Ireland was important because Oblate missions were opening in several of the British colonies, where knowledge of the English language was important. A novitiate and house of theological … Continue reading →

The Founder wanted the Oblates in Britain to establish themselves in an independent mission in an urban setting. At first it seemed this setting would be in Manchester  but the success of the Oblate mission there in 1849 induced the … Continue reading →

In April, 1848, Fr. Daly acquired a property in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, without informing the Superior General. He had hoped to establish a noviciate to serve the growing number of vocations. This project ended in disaster because to pay the inflated … Continue reading →

In 1846 John Henry Newman and his community who had recently been received into the Church were granted the site as a house of retreat and study. It was Newman and his followers who gave it the name “Maryvale”, which … Continue reading →

We continue to recall the beginnings of the Oblate mission in the Anglo Irish Province. In 1845 Ambrose Phillips de Lisle invited the Oblates to take charge of the chaplaincy which he maintained in Grace Dieu, Leicestershire. Fr. Aubert assigned … Continue reading →

Fr. William Daly was the first Oblate from Ireland. Having studied in Marseilles he was ordained in 1841 and sent to England and Ireland to investigate the possibility of an Oblate establishment there. The priest in Penzance wished that a … Continue reading →

Perhaps with a touch of Mazenodian exaggeration, Eugene declared: The word of the English bishops, whom I have had occasion to see as they passed through here, is that our Congregation is the most esteemed of all in England and … Continue reading →

Thirty-eighth anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. I celebrated the feast, as is customary, in the inner chapel of the monastery of our holy Capuchin Sisters where I always receive the most touching testimony of the daughterly affection of … Continue reading →