We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations. To seek out new ways for the Word of God to reach their hearts often calls for daring; to present Gospel demands in all clarity should never intimidate us.
CC&RR. Constitution 8
Leflon (Volume IV. pages 328-330), based on eye-witness accounts writes:
A missionary by vocation, he remained one all his life, devoting him-self by preference to the poorest and most abandoned souls. This aristocrat who shocked the Aix drawing-rooms by isolating himself in that very “uncouth” ministry and who was so little inclined toward democracy, maintained a touching solicitude for the common people. He loved them and was loved by them, understood them and was understood by them… What was most typically Marseillais, however, was the manner in which the fishwives of the Port district showed him marks of favor without any regard for protocol.
Their queen, Babeau, who was not shy, sometimes would force his carriage to come to a stop, stand in front of his door, and begin a conversation in the Provencal dialect which is more than direct, although its lilting harmonies will soften what might otherwise be too blunt a remark. Her cronies would rush up to add their bit to the conversation,, and, in his witty and hearty manner, Bishop de Mazenod would reply in rough and ready fashion, using expressions no less colorful, while at the same time slipping in a few spiritual ideas. He would then drive off again, after giving his blessing to the ladies of the fishmarket as they knelt devoutly on the ground.
The women esteemed him so highly that they “had arranged to ask for him personally each time any of them became ill,” and, in 1848, they appointed themselves his guardians and protectors and rushed to the episcopal palace when it was rumored that the Republicans, furious over the election results, planned to attack him. “Don’t be afraid, Monseigneur,” they told him; “we are here to guard you.” Actually, he had little need of such “protection” since there were only threats; but had there been more than just threats, the determination of these femmes terribles would have halted the assailants for they would not have confined themselves to heaping the spiciest and strongest morsels of their choice vocabulary upon their heads. It should not be concluded from these unique demonstrations, however, that only the fishwives appreciated the prelate’s innate goodness. Testimony proves that when he passed by on foot, “ the common people and the poor surrounded him, greeted him, talked with him, and ran after him.”
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
Eugene’s diary is filled with descriptions that show his closeness to his flock. Some examples:
Confirmation for a poor woman who was in great pain as she lay on her mattress on the fourth floor. How it pains my heart to see people suffer in that way, but also, what a consolation to be able to bring them relief by my words and by the graces of my holy ministry!
Diary, 28 December 1838, EO XIX
At that time, the bishop was the only one allowed to minister the sacrament of confirmation:
Confirmation in my chapel of two soldiers who are about to leave for the Crimea.
It would be interesting to make a list of the [special] Confirmations that I have the occasion to do in the course of the year (independently of the general Confirmations), either in my chapel, or in the hospitals, or in the homes of the sick to whose bedside I am continually being called. There would be good reason to give glory to God for inspiring me to perform this duty assiduously, to the great benefit of so many souls.
I admit that, as far as I am concerned, this truly pastoral ministry fills my soul with a holy joy and is a consolation to me, the real recompense for the accomplishment of this duty. That is especially true when I am called to the bedside of the poor as has happened once again today. Nothing can be so touching as the visible signs traced on the faces of all those who rush to the sick person’s dwelling to be present for the bishop’s visit. Sometimes it is necessary to climb to the attic by stairways that are all but impracticable. However, these stairways, which are normally quite dark, are lighted by numerous lamps placed at a short distance from one another on the steps of these ladders which at times must be mounted by hoisting one’s self with the help of the rope which serves as a railing.
But when once he arrives at the bedside of the sick person, what a feeling overwhelms the pastor who has come to visit his suffering sheep and bestow religious assistance by addressing words of encouragement, or resignation etc. The almsgiving which ordinarily follows the prayer which I say aloud while the sick person is interiorly united with me, is accepted with emotion. It is a day of consolation for the afflicted family and of happiness for the visiting pastor.
Diary, January 13 1856, EO XXII
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
In the midst of a war with Austria which France had won, the old Bishop Eugene ministered to the injured of both sides of the conflict. In moving words, he wrote:
I officiated pontifically. It was at the end of the High Mass that we sang, sadly, the Te Deum as requested. How is it possible to rejoice over a heap of dead bodies, over so much blood shed for such a bad cause!
Therefore, after the Te Deum, I added prayers for peace and I recited in a loud voice the Fidelium animae per misericordiam Dei requiescant in pace. I had, beforehand, had the intention of offering the indulgence of the Mass just celebrated for the poor souls of the French and Austrians who were sacrificed on the battlefield.
My heart was so weighed down at the thought of so many victims, that I sought some relief by fulfilling a paternal duty of charity and by going to visit the wounded from both nations who have been brought to our military hospital. The inspiration proved to be good.
All those interesting young men were singularly touched by my visit. I approached the bed of each one and showed a lively interest in them. The Austrians, whose faith is more demonstrative, took my hand to kiss it. I could have willingly kissed their faces so strongly did I feel their catholicity which made them so dear to me.
The sight of one of these wounded men whom I had before me filled my heart with compassion and sadness; and these men, with one exception, had only lesser wounds, or least not life threatening. What must be, I thought, the sight of those thousands of men terribly mutilated piled up in heaps of corpses? What an awful sight! Is it not sufficient to make one curse all wars and even more so those undertaken as this one of today, under such vain pretexts and for such a detestable cause!
Diary, 12 June 1859, EO XXII
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
One of Eugene’s earliest biographers, Rey (I, p 38), shows how Eugene remained faithful to this program of being available to all in his diocese. Each morning, for four hours, he was in his office to receive whoever came. Because Marseille was a crossroad of all people and all types of misery, it was clear that all these presented themselves and received a welcome, without having to make an appointment or having to state their names. Within a few weeks of starting this practice, Eugene was led to note :
Audiences swamp me!” and “Who will be the most indiscreet in asking me for exorbitant help. Five persons drained me with their requests this morning. Mr. Fabre, magistrate and municipal councilor… had the patience to wait more than one and a half hours for his turn to enter my place. This perseverance gained him a very polite reception.”
Later in the year he reflected on one of these mornings in his Diary:
If mornings such as this one has been, and indeed many others too, were to occur too often, I feel that I would not be able to continue. It is not merely a question of giving money, but to be faced with unfortunate people and to realize that, even doing the impossible, I am not able to meet their needs, is more than I can cope with. A widow
whose husband has died in Cayenne and who hasn’t a penny either to live or to return to her country. A young man, of Belgian nationality, coming out of hospital where he spent all his money and who is now
worn out by his illness and by frustration, has only the 10 Francs given him by his consul to get him back to Belgium. An old lady, the sister of a priest of the diocese who died a long time ago, who has all
her belongings in the pawn shop and who has not the wherewith to go to her son who would at least give her a bowl of soup to prevent her dying of hunger.
Diary, 3 September 1838, EO XIX
Reflecting on these and countless other moments of being close to his people he concluded:
These audiences every day take all of my time. Nevertheless, they are necessary. It is the duty of a bishop to make himself available to all his flock. I have the satisfaction of seeing everybody satisfied with the way they have been received when they leave. I must give advice and help, each one has the right to be listened to by their pastor.
Diary, 8 September 1838, EO XIX
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
Unlike many bishops of his time who were unapproachable and prioritized administration, Eugene’s behavior as an Oblate would be different – he would not be a distant figure but would search for every opportunity to be close to his flock:
Series of instructions in the various parishes, catechism, visits to the sick in turn in all sectors of the city will be effective ways to bring about good among them, at the same time giving me the benefit of satisfying the duties of my position as I like to consider them.
He understood that being a bishop was a consecration to a life of close oblational service of others. To put this commitment into practice, he drew up a daily schedule for himself. Rising at 5 he would dedicate 90 minutes to prayer, then a period of study of Scripture, Fathers of the Church and theology. Thereafter several hours in his office to receive people. In the afternoons, 30 minutes of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament followed by visits in the city.
Here he lists “courtesy calls on convents,” and visits “especially to the sick and the poor,” and then “each parish in turn.” (Daily schedule, May 1837, EO XV, n.186,)
A program marked by closeness to God and closeness to his flock.
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
When Eugene became Bishop of Marseilles in 1837 he made a statement that was to sum up the next 24 years of his episcopacy. It was his commitment to live his ministry as bishop always close to the people of Marseille:
However, I must attach myself to this people as a father to his child ren. My existence, my life, all my being must be consecrated to it, I must have no thought but for its good, no fears other than I have not done enough for its welfare and sanctification, no other solicitude than that which must include all its spiritual interests and even in a certain way its temporal welfare.
I must in a word consume myself for it, be ready to sacrifice my leisure, my desire, rest, life itself for it.
Retreat preparatory to taking possession of the episcopal see of Marseilles, May 1837, EO XV, n. 185.
“I must attach myself to this people as a father to his children!” How much closer to his people was it possible to come? Following the example of the closeness of Jesus, his Savior, Bishop Eugene was prepared to give everything for his people, to consume himself, to be ready to sacrifice even life itself. Here the diocesan bishop’s Oblate heart shines through: being close to the people meant living a life of oblation for them. “I must in a word consume myself for it, be ready to sacrifice my leisure, my desire, rest, life itself for it.”
We must always be sensitive to the mentality of the people, drawing on the riches of their culture and religious traditions
Rule 8a
Eugene, as Oblate and bishop, was aware of and appreciated the importance of the local customs (even though he did not always agree with some of them). He allowed the people to mix popular customs and folklore with their expression of faith as long as it brought them closer to God. Recounting a procession through the streets of the city with a statue of Mary he described the atmosphere of a joyous celebration with military music, fireworks, the houses adorned with festive decorations, and crowds in festive dresses lined the streets. He concluded:
That is how things are done in Marseilles. Not everything is devotion, but a religious ceremony is always an interesting spectacle for this people.
Diary, 26 March 1838, EO XIX
The Corpus Christi procession included an ox, ridden by a boy representing John the Baptist. The day before the ox was brought to him for a blessing. In his diary he wrote,
Visit of the ox for the Corpus Christi procession. It was intended to bring the animal up to the great hall. The people had invaded the bishop’s residence. I was obliged to do the honors for such a beautiful visit. Everybody showed great interest.
Diary, 11 June 1838, EO XIX
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
We will let our lives be enriched by the poor and the marginalized as we work with them, for they can make us hear in new ways the Gospel we proclaim.
Rule 8a
In 1850 Eugene visited the Oblates in England. He was proud of their closeness to the poor and wrote:
I went to Liverpool where another kind of marvel was waiting for me. Our Fathers, as you know, are in charge of the district of Holy Cross inhabited by a great number of poor Irish to whom they provide the aid of religion. It would be too long to describe to you all that is done in this miserable shed which serves as a chapel and which fills up six times on Sundays.
Letter to Fr Henri Tempier, 10 July 1850, EO III n 42
Some background to this situation:
This part of the city was a vast dockland slum, housing many thousands of Irish immigrants who had fled Ireland after the devastating potato famines of 1845 and 1847. Many had used Liverpool as a staging area to go to other lands, but thousands stayed in the area in the most squalid conditions. It was made up of dingy tenements, joined together in airless courts and polluted by open sewers and piles of rubbish. By the end of 1847 over 300,000 impoverished and fever-ridden immigrants from the Irish famine had settled in the Liverpool area. These immigrants formed the vast majority of the parishioners of the parish. It was estimated that the parish contained about 11,000 Catholics, though this number kept increasing with the arrival of every ship from Ireland. (https://www.omiworld.org/lemma/liverpool-holy-cross-parish-1850-2001/)
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
Nearly 200 years after our foundation, an Oblate recounts his experience:
I remember very well how, when I was young, on the border with Mexico in Laredo, Texas, I admired these men who had come from far away. They were from Belgium, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, and even the missionaries from Chicago were seen as “foreigners” come from afar. They were ordinary men and they became ordinary like us.
And although at the time, there was no talk of “inculturation” as there is now, they adapted very well to the culture of a Mexican border town. They learned our language, ate our “spicy” Mexican food, participated in our public and family feasts, defended our human rights, concerned themselves with our education and social and economic development.
They became like us!
We will always be close to the people with whom we work, taking into account their values and aspirations.
Constitution 8
The closeness of the Missionaries to the people made them favour the lowly at all times, but not to the exclusion of anyone else’s right to the benefits of salvation.
For many of the early Oblates, this was not an issue since they were incapable of preaching competently in French, not having had the broad education which Eugene himself had had or the intellectual capabilities of someone like Guibert. But in no way was this seen as being a negative quality.
The Jesuits preached a mission in Gap in 1823 with some of the Oblates, and Eugene referred to a letter he received from the Jesuit superior:
…he only says that having been forewarned that Father Mie and Father Touche would not be popular, being accustomed only to preach in Provençal, he had not made them preach; that they had the goodness to give catechetical instructions, which are much more useful to the ignorant than beautiful discourses.
Letter to Marius Suzanne, 29 November 1823, EO VI n. 121
That which some considered weakness was in fact their strength by being close to and in instructing the poor as to who God the Saviour was for them.
