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Eugene De Mazenod, Co-Operator of Christ the Saviour… PONTIFICIA UNIVERSITÀ LATERANENSE ISTITUTO DI TEOLOGIA DELLA VITA CONSACRATA CLARETIANUM DOCTORAL THESIS in Theology of the Religious Life EUGENE DE MAZENOD, CO-OPERATOR OF CHRIST THE SAVIOUR, COMMUNICATES HIS SPIRIT CANDIDATE: Francis SANTUCCI omi (Matricola 587) MODERATOR: Santiago GONZALEZ SILVA cmf Rome 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents 2 Abbreviations 9 Introduction and Acknowledgements 10 Chapter One: The Origin and Development of Eugene De Mazenod’s Vocation 15 1 Emergence and Definition of Eugene’s Ideals in a Process of Personal Conversion 17 2 Saint Sulpice: Clarification of Eugene’s Ideals and the Spirit in which to Live them 21 2.1 The Spirit of Seeking the Glory of the God Who Saved Him 21 2.1.1 The Sense of Being Called by God. 21 2.1.2 The Glory of God: The Spirit of Giving Everything to His Saviour 22 2.1.3 The Glory of God: The Spirit of Martyrdom 23 2.1.4 The Glory of God: The Spirit of Joyful Enthusiasm in God’s Service 24 2.2 The Spirit of Working for the Salvation of Souls 26 2.2.1 Profound Sense of Awe at the Value of the Individual Soul 26 2.2.2 The Salvation of His Family 27 2.2.3 The Salvation of All Those to Whom He Ministered in His Pastoral Experiences as a Seminarian 28 2.2.3.1 Teaching Catechism with Simplicity and Enthusiasm 28 2.2.3.2 Preaching Salvation with Joyful Enthusiasm 30 2.2.3.3 Personal Contact as a Means of Communicating the Truths of Salvation 31 2.3 The Spirit of the Good of the Church 32 2.3.1 A Spirit of Compassionate Suffering with the Church in Her Suffering as a Mother 33 2.3.2 A Spirit of Responding Realistically so as to Heal the Suffering of the Church 34 2.3.2.1 Sense of Responsibility for the Church’s Members 34 2.3.2.2 Courage to Risk his Life for the Church 35 2.3.2.3 The Need for Good Priests 36 2.3.2.4 The Association of Seminarians at St. Sulpice 38 3 The Spirit of His Priestly Ideals 40 3.1 An Apostle at the Service of His Saviour 40 3.2 Director at Saint Sulpice Seminary 43 4 Return to Aix: “My chief occupation will be to love him, my chief concern to make him loved” 44 5 The Apostolic Spirit of the First Years of Priestly Ministry in Aix: to Love the Poor with the Love of the Saviour 47 5.1 Preacher of the Gospel to the Poor 48 5.2 Witness of God’s Mercy to Prisoners 52 5.3 Formator in the Seminary of Aix 54 2 6 The Youth Congregation of Aix: a Study of How the Apostolic Man Communicated His Spirit 56 6.1 The Situation of the Church in France 56 6.2 The Statutes of the Congregation of Christian Youth 58 6.2.1 The Spirit of the Congregation of Christian Youth 59 6.2.2 The Regulations of the Congregation of Christian Youth 62 6. 3 The Organization and Activities of the Congregation 64 6.3.1 Entry Procedures – Forming Part of an Elite Corps 64 6.3.2 The Apostolic Function of the Various Office Bearers 66 6.3.3 The Gatherings of the Congregation 68 6.3.4 Living as Leaven During the Week 70 6.3.5 Charity as the Bond Between Them 71 6.3.6 Studies 72 6.3.7 The Congregation as a Mother 73 6.4 The Fruits of the Youth Congregation 75 6.5 Close Links with the Missionaries of Provence 80 7 Conclusion 82 Chapter Two: The Spirit of Eugene de Mazenod Shared with Others and Incarnated in the Rule for His Missionaries 84 1 The Apostle Shares His Vision and Spirit with Others and Invites Them to Join Him: The Birth of the Missionaries of Provence 84 1.1 1814: A Serious Illness and Its After-effects for Eugene 85 1.2 1815: The Vocation to Mission Preaching Becomes a Reality 89 2 How Eugene Presented the Spirit Underlying the Foundation of the Missionaries of Provence (October 1815-January 1816) 90 2.1 The Focal Point: God the Saviour Who Calls People to Bring about Salvation 91 2.2 The Situation of the Church which Demanded a Response 93 2.3 What was Expected of the Group of Apostolic Men 94 2.3.1 Preach the Word of God 94 2.3.2 Become Holy Priests Dedicated to Bringing Salvation 95 2.3.3 Form an Exemplary Community Modelled on the Apostles 98 2.4 The Purpose of the Rule of Life 99 2.5 The Beginnings 100 3 The Apostles Share their Spirit with Others 101 4 Eugene’s Retreat of 1816: An Important Personal Shift of Perspective 104 5 The Missionaries of Provence: 1816-1818 106 6 The Apostolic Man Gives Flesh to His Spirit: The Rule of 1818 as the Rule for the Co- operator of the Saviour 109 6.1 The Origin of the Rule 109 6.2 The Spirit in which to Live the Rule: The Foreword 111 6.3 The Purpose of the Rule 114 6.4 Focal Point of the Rule: Jesus Christ the Saviour who Transforms the Missionaries into Co-operators 114 3 6.5 The Intimate Bond between the Saviour and the Church and Consequently between the Missionary and the Church 116 6.5.1 The Situation of the Church: the Saviour’s Spouse Who Has Been Cruelly Ravaged 116 6.5.2 The Situation of the Church: Almost Destroyed by Corrupt Priests 117 6.5.3 The Situation of the Church: Healed by Good Priests who are the Saviour’s Imitators and Co-operators 118 6.6 The Missionary as a Co-operator with Christ the Saviour 119 6.6.1 The Co-operator is Formed in the Apostolic School of Jesus 119 6.6.2 The Co-operator Imitates the Virtues of the Saviour 121 6.6.3 The Co-operator is a Religious in Vows 123 6.6.4 The Co-operator’s Ministry is Apostolic 124 6.6.5 The Preaching of the Co-operator 126 7 Papal Approbation of the Society and Its Rule 127 7.1 The Events between 1818 and 1826 Which Led to Changes to the Rule 127 7.2 The Evolution of the Rule 130 7.3 Two Significant Changes to the 1818 Rule. 132 7.3.1 Oblates of Mary Immaculate 132 7.3.2 The Preface as the Synthesis of the Spirit of the Oblate 134 7.4 Approbation of the Rule and its Spirit 135 7.5 “This enterprise which now we can call divine” 138 7.6 The Happy Beginning of a New Era for the Society 140 Addendum: the Preface of the Rule Submitted to the Holy See in 1825 142 Chapter Three: The Spirit of Eugene de Mazenod Put into Practice through the Rule and the Preaching of Missions (1818 - 1841) 145 A The Rule Transmits the Spirit of Eugene, and Forms and Unites all Oblates in the Same Spirit 147 1 The Necessity of a Rule to Maintain Unity of Spirit in the Young Co-operators 148 2 The Rule as the most Appropriate Means to Lead the Co-operators to Achieve their Goal 152 2.1 The Rule is a Manifestation of What God Wants the Oblate to Be 152 2.2 The Rule is a Means to Reach Salvation 153 2.3 The Rule is the Guideline to shape Each Oblate’s Everyday Life 154 2.4 Regularity: the Rule Shapes the Oblate Community According to the Spirit of 155 Eugene 2.4.1 An Example of the Rule as the Instrument of Forming Oblate Superiors in the Spirit of Eugene: Eugene Bruno Guigues 157 B The Rule as the Guide to Putting the Spirit of Eugene into Practice in the Missions 163 1 Aims of the Mission Preaching 164 2 The Beneficiaries of Their Ministry 165 3 Christ the Saviour as the Framework and Focal Point of the Mission 168 4 The Exemplary Lifestyle of the Missionaries as the Key Ingredient of Mission 170 5 The Structure of the Missions 173 5.1 Cooperating with Christ the Saviour in His Close Contact with the People 173 5.1.1 Visiting the People of the Village 173 5.1.2 Availability in the Church 175 4 5.1.3 Closeness to the Poor through the Use of the Provençal Language 175 5.1.4 Closeness to the People through a Program to Fit into Their Work Schedule 178 5.1.5 The Announcements 179 5.2 Christ the Saviour as Preached by the Co-operator 181 5.2.1 The Aim of Preaching: to Instruct and Convert 181 5.2.2 A Style of Preaching Intending to Have Maximum Effect 182 5.2.3 The Necessity for Study and Prayer to Prepare Sermons 184 5.2.4 The Necessity for Writing Sermon Texts 185 5.2.5 The Contents of the Preaching 186 5.3 Ceremonies to Reinforce the Preached Message and to Appeal to the Senses 188 5.3.1 The Penitential Procession 190 5.3.2 The Remembrance of the Dead 192 5.3.3 The Renewal of Commitment 193 5.3.4 Procession in Honour of the Virgin Mary 195 5.3.5 Ceremonies Aimed at Specific Groups of People 196 5.3.6 The Closure of the Mission: Erection of the Mission Cross 200 5.3.7 Evaluation of the Ceremonies 202 5.4 The Hymn and Prayer Book as an Instrument to Reinforce the Preached Message and of Instruction 203 5.5 The Encounter with Christ the Saviour in Confession 209 5.6 A Commitment to Christ the Saviour through Communion 215 5.7 Ensuring Ongoing Structures for Everyday Life after the Mission 216 5.8 Return of Mission 218 6 Evaluation of the Missions 219 7 Eugene Communicates his Spirit through Directing and Encouraging those Involved in Missions 220 Chapter Four: The Spirit of Eugene de Mazenod Put into Practice in the “Permanent Missions” and in the Formation of Oblates (1818- 1841) 224 A The “Permanent Missions” and the Spirit of Eugene de Mazenod 224 1 The Shrine of Notre Dame du Laus 226 1.1 Laus as a Centre of Irradiation for the Preaching of Missions 227 1.2 Marian Shrines as “Centres of Salvation” 229 1.2.1 Pilgrimages 229 1.2.2 The Co-operators of the Saviour and Marian Shrines 234 2 Mission to Priests 236 3 Direction of Seminaries 242 4 Permanent Missions in the Churches 250 5 Mission to Youth 251 6 Mission to Prisoners 255 7 Mission to the Sick and Dying 258 8 Mission to Immigrants 263 9 Mission to Other Groups 266 5 B The Formation of Oblates in the Spirit of Eugene de Mazenod 267 1 The Postulants 268 2 The Novitiate: Assimilation of Eugene’s Spirit 270 2.1 Aims of the Novitiate 271 2.2 The Novitiates 273 2.3 Eugene Communicates his Spirit through the Young Novice Masters 274 3 Oblation and Post-novitiate Formation 276 Chapter Five: The Foreign Missions Shaped by the Spirit of Eugene 281
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