Category Archives: WRITINGS

Eugene’s role as leader of the Oblate Congregation meant that he had to distribute the Oblates according to the needs of the missions we were caring for. In some cases, he encountered difficulties because of personal likes and dislikes of … Continue reading →

Writing to the benefactors who had been so generous to the Oblate missionaries in Canada, Eugene wrote to express his gratitude. A gratitude not expressed only in words, but in the action of making them Associates in all the spiritual … Continue reading →

From the first day of our existence as Oblates, our missionary successes would not have been possible without the presence and assistance of our lay supporters. Twenty six years later, this was proved true in Canada just months after the … Continue reading →

The Oblates were experiencing a growth in vocations. God’s gift in calling new members required a response of gratitude expressed in generosity in caring for and developing the growth of these young men. There is no sacrifice we should not … Continue reading →

Venice was a place that recalled harsh memories for Eugene of difficulties of being an exile, of the separation of his parents, of financial deprivation and of fear of the revolutionary armies of France. We needed to distract ourselves from … Continue reading →

On his journey to Italy with his sister, Eugene revisited Venice. He had spent three years there some 50 years earlier as a young adolescent. Arrived in Venice. The day did not go by without our going to visit the … Continue reading →

Eugene’s sister, Nathalie, had five children. One had died in 1825 at the age of 12, the other in 1829 at the age of 19 and now the third, Louis de Boisgelin had just died at the age of 27. … Continue reading →

In communion with the suffering Catholics in Spain, which we have seen above, Eugene wrote a pastoral letter to his diocese. Yes, my dearly beloved brethren, you cannot merely watch without taking interest in the sad situation. A portion of … Continue reading →

Writing to the priests of his diocese, in 1840, about the civil war in Spain, Bishop de Mazenod made them aware of the suffering of their fellow-priests in exile from persecution: Since a number of years the disorders happening in … Continue reading →

Bishop de Mazenod’s “heart as big as the world” was not limited to the missionary zeal of the Oblates sent outside of France. He had a sense of communion with the Church throughout the world, especially in areas where there … Continue reading →