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The following is the English translation of the official text of Presentation of Blessed Eugene de Mazenod delivered by Cardinal Bernard Gantin to the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, requesting that Eugene be named a Saint of the Church. The date of Eugene de Mazenod’s official canonization was December 3, 1995 in Rome. 1. The Blessed Charles-Joseph-Eugene de Mazenod, diocesan bishop and founder of a religious missionary congregation, gave the universal Church a witness of remarkable saintliness. He was born at Aix-en-Provence on August 1, 1782. Because of the French Revolution, he lived in Italy from the age of nine till he was twenty years old. On returning to his country, in 1802, he was impressed by the sad situation of the Church and by the religious ignorance of the faithful. He decided to become a priest, overcoming the strong opposition of his family. After four years of formation at Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Paris, he was ordained priest on December 21, 1811. In 1815, he founded the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to evangelize the poorest populations of Provence that were being neglected. He then sent his missionaries to proclaim the Gospel in America, South Africa and Asia. Later on, he was appointed Vicar General of Marseilles and, in 1836, Bishop of this same diocese. Until his death on May 21, 1861, he was at the service of his people with an extraordinary pastoral charity, nourished by an intense interior life. In his city, rapidly developing at the time, he created numerous parishes, built new churches and installed new Religious Institutes. 2. As founder and bishop, he was remarkable for the energy with which he worked to awaken and form priestly and religious vocations. In a little more than forty years, the priests of his diocese increased in number from around a hundred and fifty to over four hundred. In equivalent numbers, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate were sent as missionaries to four continents. He called themn all to saintliness and transmitted to them a unique conception of “daring for the Kingdom of God” and a great sense of urgency for the salvation of souls. The Diocese of Marseilles has long benefited from the pastoral organization which he realized. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, thanks to the impetus he had given, constantly developed; they are now close to five thousand in about 80 countries. Eugene de Mazenod’s reputation for saintliness, very vivid among the faithful of the diocese of Marseilles and in France, has spread to all the countries where the Missionary Oblates labor. The numerous delegations present today at the canonization bear witness to this. 3. The example that Eugene de Mazenod gave by his life remains timely: as religious, by his radical way of following Christ; as bishop, by his love for the Church and by his many pastoral initiatives; as apostle and missionary, by his zeal and fidelity in proclaiming the Gospel. Note: | |
SAINT
EUGENE DE MAZENOD