No. 29 • February 2013 Fr. Louis Brisson Symposium Founded in 1997 and published biannually by the International Commission for Salesian Studies (ICSS) of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales To Live with One Heart: Louis Brisson and the Salesian Pentecost Wendy M. Wright We are with you, my Good Mother, in all things; we live only in one soul and one heart in order to accomplish the wish of our Good Mother Mary de Sales who repeated to me many times that it was essential that the Oblate Sisters be completely daughters of St. Francis de Sales, and that one should find among them what he [de Sales] had Introduction to this issue . wished to establish first of all: charity, the most On Saturday, 22 September 2012, Louis Brisson (1817- perfect humility, and constant union with the 1908), founder of the Oblates and the Oblate Sisters of divine will. 1 St. Francis de Sales, was beatified in the splendid Gothic cathedral of Troyes (France). On the three days following the When Fr. Louis Brisson (1817-1908) wrote these words in April beatification, Masses of Thanksgiving were celebrated in the of 1887 to Oblate Sister Claire de Jésus Tapin, he was giving voice village of Plancy (Sunday, 23 September), where Fr. Brisson was both to his own sense of vocation as well as reflecting the wider spirit born and died; at the Troyes Visitation monastery (Monday, of his era, an era during which the spiritual vision of Francis de Sales 24 September), where he was chaplain for over 40 years; and in and Jane de Chantal was in ascendance. This is so much the case the crypt of the Motherhouse of the Oblate Sisters (Tuesday, that the phrase “Salesian Pentecost” has been coined to describe the 25 September), where he is buried. 19th-century popularity of Salesian spirituality among European Also in conjunction with the beatification, the 2 International Commission for Salesian Studies (ICSS) Catholics. Two centuries earlier, the Doctor of Divine Love, as de 3 sponsored on 24-25 September a symposium on Fr. Brisson’s Sales has been called, and those who shared his spiritual vision ministry and spirituality that took place at the Motherhouse of conceptualized the cosmic drama as a “world of hearts:” human the Oblate Sisters in Troyes. In this special “Blessed Louis hearts, created in the image of the divine heart, aligned together Brisson” commemorative issue of the ICSS Newsletter , we are through the crucified heart of Jesus who invites all to come and learn pleased to offer the four papers presented at the beatification from His gentleness and humility (Matthew 11:28-30). 4 This symposium. (The symposium also included the premiere of the particular Salesian way of framing the Christian life captured the excellent DVD on Fr. Brisson that was prepared specifically for imagination of Fr. Brisson and many of his contemporaries. the occasion of his beatification by the Dutch Salesian Family.) The aim of this essay is to chart the trajectory of this revival of This issue also features photos of the beatification. To all things Salesian nearly two hundred years after the deaths of the accommodate this and the publication of the papers, other Savoyard bishop and the widowed French foundress and to consider customary features of the Newsletter , such as the news items and what was occurring in church and society to give impetus to the bibliography, are postponed until our next issue. revival. Additionally, it will explore the wide network of persons We hope you enjoy this special issue, and find it a useful who spearheaded the revival and suggest some of the ways that Louis resource for this Year of Faith, which marks the 50th Brisson himself was linked to these others fired by the spirit of the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), and the Year of Renewal, which is being observed by Salesian Pentecost. the De Sales Oblates as we continue to reflect on the grace of the beatification and the inspiration and example of Blessed The Context for the Pentecost Louis Brisson. More specifically, the De Sales Oblates’ 2012 General Chapter envisions the Year of Renewal as an invitation Why in the 19th century did the Salesian Pentecost catch fire? to “engage energetically in the Church’s call of a new An overly simplified answer is threefold, and involves a mix of evangelization by going out to others in gentle love and with a political, intellectual, cultural, economic, ecclesial, theological, and spirit that enlightens, encourages, enlivens and empowers.” spiritual factors. Europe, especially France, by the end of the 18th century was ripe for revolution. The royalist-nationalist structures 2 ICSS NEWSLETTER that had dominated society, sustained as they were by theories Moralis written by François Genet and known popularly as the affirming the divine right of kings, could no longer hold. The most Morale de Grenoble, spread rigorist ideas that affected the dramatic and early crack in the edifice was born of the sacramental practice of Penance and Holy Communion. Enlightenment, with its faith in reason and critique of the Absolution was frequently delayed or refused, and participation in institutions of monarchy and church. On the political front the the Eucharist was reserved for a few spiritual elite thought to be French Revolution signaled the crumbling of the ancien regime not worthy. 9 The result was the cultivation of a fear-driven Catholic only in France, but also across the continent and beyond. The faith that eschewed “the world” and taught an exaggerated sense Catholic Church, tightly linked as it was to the old order, was of human sinfulness. caught in the crucible that swept much of that established order Gradually, as the new century progressed, there was a turn away. A profound disruption of Catholic culture followed in the away from this mood and a turn toward a religion that stressed wake of the Revolution and its century-long aftermath: those who God’s love. Faith became concerned with the transformation of claimed Roman Catholicism as spiritual homeland found human existence here and now rather than with an otherworldly themselves unmoored and at a critical juncture. These salvation achieved by adherence to stringent observance in this monumental cultural shifts had created the conditions for an one. 10 In sacramental practice this shift was evident in the spread increasingly “secularized” society. 5 In France alone, serial of Eucharistic devotion in the forms of adoration of the republican, imperial and restorationist governments changed Eucharistic Real Presence and a widespread desire for frequent policies with whiplash speed, mostly to the detriment of religious communion. 11 This ecclesial shift ran parallel to the wider practice. A new elite generation tended to be religiously indifferent European cultural turn toward Romanticism, with its affirmation or hostile. The general populace was not well catechized. of human goodness and sympathy for popular culture. This bled Yet in the face of coercion, suppression, intimidation and over into a religious appreciation of popular religiosity with its indifference, enormous Catholic spiritual energy was unleashed. A miracles, apparitions, festive practices, shrines, relics, and popular nucleus of fervent believers emerged bent on living the faith in art. Indeed, the 19th century was to become the great age of creative new ways. Under the galvanizing efforts of this nucleus, religious devotionalism and Marian piety. 12 catechetical instruction increased, clerical training improved, new In was in this context that the Salesian Pentecost ignited. Of congregations were founded to undertake internal and foreign course, Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal and the spirituality missions, and the physical presence of the church was they espoused had not disappeared during the intervening years: reconstructed. The Salesian Pentecost would be part of this but its flourishing in the 19th century was remarkable and new revitalization. creative expressions of that spirit emerged. There were several Europe was changing not only because of political turmoil, intertwined pathways through which Salesian spirituality traveled. but also as a result of serious economic transitions. The Industrial First, the institutional: specifically the Order of the Visitation of Revolution drew workers away from the country into urban Holy Mary that the two saints had co-founded and which was enclaves and in the process unraveled the daily communal life of closely associated with the popular devotion to the Sacred Heart. 13 village culture into which religious practice had long been woven. Second, the Salesian vision was carried through the writings of Younger workers especially were vulnerable in the cities. Far from de Sales, especially the Introduction to the Devout Life but also family and community, many were uneducated and uncatechized. through the Treatise on the Love of God and collections of his Since religious communities had been disbanded by government letters. 14 And third, the Salesian witness had traveled by way of fiat, social needs became pressing and offered opportunities for the reputation of the two founders for holiness: particularly it was believers to apply themselves to the renewal of society through the Bishop de Sales who was deemed a true image of Christ. In exercise of the works of mercy. New female and male apostolic addition he was extolled as a missionary and champion of the congregations were founded to respond to these needs, even as the Catholic cause in the face of the Protestant challenge. 15 Not political milieu in which they emerged often hindered their everyone who was drawn into the welcoming circle of the revival growth. The Salesian spirit, adaptable as it was to many different of the Salesian spirit during the 19th century came to it through lifestyles and ministries undergirded many of these efforts.