Having decided to change the name of our Congregation, Eugene now asked the Pope to give us this name officially. When this request was eventually granted, Eugene was able to proclaim everywhere that it was \u201cthe name that the Pope has given us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAt the same time, we ask Your Holiness that, in the Brief of Approval which the Missionaries request, you give them the name of Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary instead of Oblates of Saint Charles: this to avoid any confusion of names with other Congregations;\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
“As Father Fernand Jett\u00e9 stated, the title of a religious family usually expresses its nature, essence and function. It really seems that the choice of the title Missionary Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary<\/em>\u00a0must have been the culmination of a new and deeper insight into the mission of the Congregation on the part of Father de Mazenod. He discovered Mary as the person who was the most committed to the service of Christ, the poor and the Church and saw her as the most comprehensive model of apostolic life as required by his Congregation.” \u00a0\u00a0Casimir Lubowicki, \u201cMary\u201d in the Dictionary of Oblate Values, http:\/\/www.omiworld.org\/dictionary.asp?v=9&ID=1056&let=M&pag=4<\/a><\/p>\n
\nand further, if you are agreeable and if you approve, to make it clear that Father de Mazenod, who was thereto named by unanimous vote of his co-workers, be and remain the superior of the Society of the Missionary (from now on called, if it pleases Your Holiness) Oblates of the Most Holy and Immaculate Virgin Mary.<\/strong><\/h5>\n
\u00a0The most humble, faithful and devoted son of Your Holiness,<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Father de Mazenod, Vicar General of Marseilles<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Petition for approbation to Pope Leo XII, 8 December 1825, EO XIII n.48<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As was the custom at that time, the Superior General was elected for life, and Eugene was merely asking the Pope to ratify what had been decided by the Missionaries in 1816 and 1818.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis mother said to the servants: \u2018Do whatever he tells you\u2019.\u201d John 2:5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Having decided to change the name of our Congregation, Eugene now asked the Pope to give us this name officially. When this request was eventually granted, Eugene was able to proclaim everywhere that it was \u201cthe name that the Pope … Continue reading