Eugene de Mazenod speaks to us

Then, to allay any fears that the Bishop could have about the independence of a religious congregation in his diocese, Eugene hastens to assure him of the relationship he expects the Oblates to have with the local bishop of the diocese in which they work.

They will be subject to you as to their bishop, they will love you as their father; as their protector and guide, you are assured of their trust and gratitude in advance.

They will certainly do everything possible to support your views and to please you, for they have long been trained to be subject to the bishops, whom their Institute requires them to honor in a very special manner, not “only while being watched,” but “from the heart” [ed. Ephes. 6: 6]. In a word, they will be your men; and though the interior government of their community is determined by their Rules, even in that you will discover that they will do your will, for you do not ask for anything better than to see them live in perfect regularity, in conformity with what the Church has prescribed for them when it approved their Constitutions.

Having re-assured the bishop that the Oblates would be good co-operators in his diocese, he concluded with the wish that the problem of Dupuy and Dassy’s impetuosity could be forgotten.

That is, Your Lordship, what the good Lord has inspired me to write to you in all simplicity. Speak and everything will be ironed out.

Letter to Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble, 18 August 1834, EO XIII n 82

To further convince the Bishop of Grenoble, Eugene now describes the ideals of the Oblate Congregation in glowing terms through the experience of Fr Dupuy:

He had come to know and appreciate the priests of our Congregation; he knew that our communities are paradise on earth; that peace, agreement, and the most perfect charity reign therein; that there is only one will, one heart, the practice and love of obedience. And so, he wanted to bring in these men who here below seek only the glory of God and the salvation of souls and who would not oppose his good objectives.

I can assure you that, even though these priests belong to a religious Congregation, you will find in them respect, obedience, and devotedness equal to any test.

Letter to Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble, 18 August 1834, EO XIII n 82

It is good to be reminded of the idyllic picture, as do the Acts of the Apostles when speaking of the earliest Christian communities.

We have seen how Fr Dupuy had left the Oblates to be a diocesan priest and how he had been appointed pastor of the parish at Osier. On his own, he had asked the Oblates to come to join him to develop the pilgrimages to the sanctuary and preach missions. Fr Dassy had spent some time recuperating from an illness there, and had managed to persuade the Bishop to give the direction of the sanctuary to the Oblates.

The problem was that Eugene as Superior General and the Bishop of Grenoble had not spoken about this impulsive personal initiative. Thus, Eugene was nervous and used a diplomatic approach to the Bishop before agreeing to send Oblates to the marain shrine:

M. Dupuy has written to ask me for another man from our Congregation, and he assures me that he takes this step with your approval. I confess, Your Lordship, that I was so upset at first for not having followed the impulse of my heart which inclined me to write to you when he urged me to add M. Guigues to M. Dassy, whom he had taken with him, first with the intent of restoring his health, but whom he then retained as being very helpful to his work, so that nothing could determine me to accede to M. Dupuy’s wishes prior to knowing explicitly from yourself whether you agreed with this

Eugene then gives the reasons why Dupuy chose the Oblates instead of local clergy of the diocese:

There is no doubt that M. Dupuy, who is on the spot wherein he at first expected to accomplish the work of religion all by himself or with the help of a few priests of the area, saw that it would be too difficult and even impractical to form a community made up of heterogeneous elements, and he probably did not feel strong enough to spend his life in close association with strangers, each with his own will, divergent ideas, and unique spirit. He had come to know and appreciate the priests of our Congregation…

Letter to Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble, 18 August 1834, EO XIII n 82

An insight into Eugene’s wry sense of humor:

My dear Courtès. just a brief word, through the courtesy of Father Pons. I am sorry to hear that you are suffering from your usual fever. These annoying guests set themselves up as masters in our poor bodies. If we cannot get rid of them, let us at least try to teach them some manners to make them liveable with.

Letter to Hippolyte Courtès, 17 July 1834, EO VIII n 482

Eugene, being a bishop and not being allowed to work in Marseilles, offered his episcopal services for performing confirmations and pastoral care among the most abandoned in areas where the local bishop was unable to minister. In this way he combined his Oblate vocation and his state of life.

… I am on my way to the Durance Valley where I am going to administer the sacrament of confirmation in place of the poor Archbishop of Avignon who is confined to his room. They have not seen a bishop in those parts for fifteen to twenty years; could one refuse the faithful the service they have a right to?

I know that I am not strictly obliged to perform this act of charity but it seems to me that there is a kind of solidarity in the episcopate. I wish I had the health to do more, but this irritation that is lodged in my throat restrains me whether I like it or not when it comes to preaching, since I can hardly speak sometimes for any length of time.

Letter to Hippolyte Courtès, 17 July 1834, EO VIII n 482

Eugene, the missionary Oblate, was always aware of seeking out the most abandoned. Now as a bishop, without a diocese or an official function in the Church, he identifies the most abandoned who need his sacramental and pastoral services. 

I would like all who are impeded by age from fulfilling the essential duty of pastoral visitation and administration of the sacrament of confirmation in the parts of their diocese that are difficult of access to send me there, so long as I have some youth left, that is to say, if God grants me the health, over the period of the next ten years or so. The truth is, I feel a lot of compassion for these people who are left without a service they have a right to and which is so necessary for their sanctification.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 22 May 1834, EO VIII n 481

Bishop Eugene, now no longer able to remain in Marseilles as a result of the conflict with the government, continued to view the world through the eyes of a missionary.
At that time only bishops were the ones empowered to give the sacrament of confirmation, and thus if the diocesan bishop was too old or ill to travel to them remoter areas of his diocese, the people were left without his pastoral care. 

Amongst the people I met here was a priest of the diocese of Valence. He told me that the Bishop has not visited his valley for twelve years. My uncle isn’t that far behind.

This has given birth to a desire to become in some fashion a missionary amongst my fellow bishops.

Letter to Henri Tempier, 22 May 1834, EO VIII n 481

On the patronal feast of September 8, as in the past, the shrine of Notre Dame de l’Osier witnessed a great affluence of visitors, attracted, according to the codex of September 8 of 1834 and 1835, less by devotion to Mary than by the liveliness of the dancing, the hubbub of the merchants or again the good food at the inns.

The following year, the Founder wrote to Father Guigues:

Remember that Providence has put you at the service of this shrine so as to give better guidance to people’s devotion. I pray that their devotion to the Holy Virgin will bring them to conversion through your ministry.

Letter to Bruno Guigues, 3 September 1835, EO 8 n 541

In 1836, Bishop de Mazenod noted with joy the progress in the pilgrim’s devotion. Every Saturday one of the priests gave an instruction to teach the faithful how to make their pilgrimage holy. The presence of the priests, getting to know them through parish missions, the solemnity with which the month of May and the feasts of the Blessed Virgin were celebrated contributed little by little to attracting pilgrims and creating an atmosphere of prayer around the shrine. From 1837 on, the priests saw to it that the great feast of September 8 was preceded by an eight day retreat.

https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/notre-dame-de-losier/

Shortly after his arrival at l’Osier, in 1834, Abbé Alexandre Dupuy purchased the former convent of the Augustinians adjacent to the shrine. He took possession of it on March 14 along with Father Toussaint Dassy… who obtained that the direction of the shrine should be conferred on the Oblates. By entrusting the pilgrimage to the Oblates, Bishop Philibert de Bruillard also made them responsible for the diocesan parish missions.

Now let’s turn to Notre-Dame de l’Osier which is becoming a very important establishment for us. It’s really admirable how the hand of Providence has guided the affair up to now…

Letter to Hippolyte Courtès, 1 May 1834, EO VIII n 480

Abbé Dupuy had already begun to restore the convent and the church. In 1837, he sold his property of Notre-Dame de l’Osier to the Oblates.

Father Guigues saw to it that the work continued. Along with his confreres, he especially developed the works: the parish, the pilgrimage, the parish missions and the novitiate.
At the time of the Oblates’ arrival pilgrims used to come in small numbers and would find the church closed. During his first visit which he made in the summer of 1835, the Founder was struck by the lack of fervour of the parishioners and the pilgrims.

In 1836, Bishop de Mazenod noted with joy the progress in the pilgrim’s devotion. Here are a few numbers that are revealing. On the feast of September 8, 1834: 20 communions, 600 in 1838 and 1000 in 1845. The number of pilgrims grew to about 15,000 a year with 25,000 in 1873,

 https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/notre-dame-de-losier/

Fr Toussaint Dassy was recovering from a serious illness at Notre Dame de l’Osier and as his strength was restored he became increasingly more involved in the pastoral demands of the area. So successful was he that he was able to persuade the Bishop to give the administration of the shrine and parish to the Oblates.

Eugene worried about this young talented and enthusiastic priest losing focus and burning out. He reminds him to be faithful to the Rule as his compass:

In the meantime I’m relying on you not to lose the spirit of your Rule. Make your manner of observing it the matter of your daily examen, otherwise you are going to feel the strain of your isolation, and the ministry that you are now doing out of zeal is going to become your means of escape.

Don’t take on too much work, you understand you cannot accept every offer, there must be moderation in everything.

Letter to Fr. Toussaint Dassy, 25 April 1834, EO VIII n 479