Category Archives: WRITINGS

 You certainly need to be enterprising if you are called to the conquest of souls. I was furious at finding myself 2000 leagues [ed. about 6000 miles] from you and unable to make my voice reach you in less than … Continue reading →

A month after his previous letter accepting a new Oblate mission in Bytown (Ottawa), Eugene’s enthusiasm continued to be expressed. If ever anything compelled belief, it was what you proved so convincingly and what the Bishop of Montreal properly represented … Continue reading →

Having come into existence with the particular charism of evangelizing the most-abandoned, the Oblates in Canada soon identified two groups in need of evangelization: those working in the isolated lumber camps and the tribes of indigenous people. They were accessible … Continue reading →

Eugene always had a strong sense of being the spiritual father of each Oblate in the Congregation God had founded through him. In this letter he expresses this feeling as he write to Brother Chauvet, a scholastic who was preparing … Continue reading →

Christmas in the Cathedral of Marseilles filled Bishop Eugene with awe and gratitude at God’s closeness to him. He confided in his personal journal. Christmas eve occurring on a Sunday, I officiated pontifically at first Vespers. Several hours later, I … Continue reading →

Continuing to read Eugene’s letter to the Novice Master and to the novices, we come across news from Canada of several diocesan priests coming to join the Oblate Congregation. Very soon the missionaries would be in a position to begin … Continue reading →

Until the time of his death, one of Eugene’s greatest joys was to receive letters from the Oblates in the foreign missions. He would immediately have them read in the houses of formation so as to whet the appetite of … Continue reading →

Father Dassy had written a book and had consulted Eugene about whether to use the Oblate crest in the printed version. The response gives an idea of the fluidity of our name. It always had “Oblate” and “Mary Immaculate” in … Continue reading →

Eighteen years earlier, in 1825, Eugene had gone to Rome to try to obtain official recognition and approbation of the Oblate  Congregation. It was at the time when the Vatican was not approving any new religious congregations. Eugene now recalled … Continue reading →

For a long time the system of minor seminaries was customary in the Church: schools run by a diocese or religious congregation for youngsters considering a priestly or religious vocation. The Oblates had just started their first one at the … Continue reading →