I REMINDED HIM ABOUT THE GOOD DISPOSITIONS OF THE KING, AND I REQUESTED HIM TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS MISERABLE BUILDING

“From the time of his appointment as Bishop of Marseilles in 1837, he began to talk about the necessity of a new cathedral worthy of a great city. In the course of his trip to Paris in November and December of 1837 to swear allegiance to the king, as bishop of Marseilles, he told the king and the minister of Public Worship that he would need substantial help from the state to carry out this project. He requested three million francs from the ministry. The ministry responded by saying this was too much. The bishop replied that a city like Marseilles which brought in thirty two million francs from its customs fees alone richly deserved three million francs to build a monument which, in the eyes of everyone, it could not do without. (See Diary, December 16, 1837) From 1837 to 1860, Bishop de Mazenod wrote over one hundred letters to the mayor, to the prefect and to the ministers. The prefect of Bouches-des-Rhônes was in favour of the project. Hesitant at first, the mayor and the municipal council gave their consent on the condition that they would not have to contribute anything. In 1844, the bishop began to lose hope.” (See: https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/marseilles-cathedral/)

When one of the younger sons of the French King passed through Marseilles, Bishop Eugene invited him to Mass at the Cathedral. He described their arrival in his Diary and how he used the occasion to stress the need for a new and large cathedral

I received their Royal Highnesses at the door of the church, attired in my cappa magna, accompanied by the chapter and the Major Seminary. After having offered holy water, I addressed this discourse to them:

            “In coming today into this temple to fulfill here at the feet of the holy altars a duty of religion, your Royal Highnesses will be struck at seeing that the first church of a large city is so unworthy of its purpose.

A few years earlier the eldest son of the King had come to Marseilles and had responded to Eugene’s plea for this project.

” He consented to make himself, as soon as possible, as he himself told us, the advocate of a cause which had as its object the procurement from the government of the construction of a new cathedral. Unequivocal evidence attests how much he became attached to this idea, which his name still patronizes, and which I dare recommend to the fraternal piety which grieves so many defunct qualities and so many vanished hopes.

And addressing the princess:

“And you, Madame, whose faith, which in your Royal Highness calls to mind the daughter of blessed Louis, manifests itself by acts of edification which our populace enjoys honoring, consent also to take interest in the very legitimate desires of this Christian populace. It would give itself over to a wonderful hope, if your first steps on the soil of France were marked by such a patronage, and it would continuingly thereafter happily applaud the memory of your arrival among us, if the new church were one day raised within our walls as a sacred monument of your union with the prince your husband, and of your holy destinies in the bosom of the royal family.”

            The prince responded, in a few words, that he would not forget anything for complying with my wishes. He asked me for the paper on which was written my discourse, etc. I then reminded him about the good dispositions of the king, and I requested him to take a look at this miserable building

Eugene de Mazenod’s Diary, 8 December 1844, EO XXI

Eugene’s insistence eventually did pay off and he was able to begin the building project.