Eugene de Mazenod (1782-1861)

Bishop of Marseille, founder of the Congregation

of the Missionaries, Oblates of Mary Immaculate

CHARLES JOSEPH EUGENE DE MAZENOD came into a world that was destined to change very quickly.
Born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, 1782, he seemed assured of position and
wealth from his family, who were of the minor nobility. However, the turmoil of the French Revolution
changed all that forever. When Eugene was just eight years old his family fled France, leaving their
possessions behind, and started a long and increasingly difficult eleven year exile.

The Years in Italy

The Mazenod family, political refugees, trailed through a succession of cities in Italy. His father, who had
been President of the Court of Accounts, Aids and Finances in Aix, was forced to try his hand at trade to
support his family. He proved to be a poor businessman, and as the years went on the family came close
to destitution. Eugene studied briefly at the College of Nobles in Turin, but a move to Venice meant the
end to formal schooling. A sympathetic priest, Don Bartolo Zinelli, living nearby, undertook to educate
the young French emigre. Don Bartolo gave the adolescent Eugene a fundamental education, but with a
lasting sense of God and a regimen of piety which was to stay with him always, despite the ups and
downs of his life. A further move to Naples, because of financial problems, led to a time of boredom and
helplessness. The family moved again, this time to Palermo where, thanks to the kindness of the Duke
and Duchess of Cannizzaro, Eugene had his first taste of noble living and found it very much to his liking.
He took to himself the title of "Count" de Mazenod, did all the courtly things, and dreamed of a bright
future.

Return to France: the Priesthood

In 1802, at the age of 20, Eugene was able to return to his homeland - and all his dreams and illusions
were quickly shattered. He was just plain "Citizen" de Mazenod, France was a changed world, his parents
had separated, his mother was fighting to get back the family possessions. She was also intent on
marrying off Eugene to the richest possible heiress. He sank into depression, seeing little real future for
himself. But his natural qualities of concern for others, together with the faith fostered in Venice began
to assert themselves. He was deeply affected by the disastrous situation of the French Church, which had
been ridiculed, attacked and decimated by the Revolution. A calling to the priesthood began to manifest
itself, and Eugene answered that call. Despite opposition from his mother, he entered the seminary of St.
Sulpice in Paris, and on December 21, 1811, he was ordained a priest in Amiens.

Apostolic endeavours: Oblates of Mary Immaculate

Returning to Aix-en-Provence, he did not take up a normal parish appointment, but started to exercise
his priesthood in the care of the truly spiritually needy-prisoners, youth, servants, country villagers.
 Often in the face of opposition from the local clergy, Eugene pursued his course. Soon he sought out
other equally zealous priests who were prepared to step outside the old, even outmoded, structures.
Eugene and his men preached in Provencal, the language of the common people, not in "educated"
French. From village to village they went, instructing at the level of the people, spending amazingly long
hours in the confessional. In between these parish missions the group joined in an intense community
life of prayer, study and fellowship. They called themselves "Missionaries of Provence". However, so that
there would be an assured continuity in the work, Eugene took the bold step of going directly to the
Pope and asking that his group be recognized officially as a Religious Congregation of pontifical right. His
faith and his persistence paid off-and on February 17d, 1826, Pope Leo XII approved the new
Congregation, the "Oblates of Mary Immaculate". Eugene was elected Superior General, and continued
to inspire and guide his men for 35 years, until his death. Together with their growing apostolic
endeavours-preaching, youth work, care of shrines, prison chaplaincy, confessors, direction of
seminaries, parishes - Eugene insisted on deep spiritual formation and a close community life. He was a
man who loved Christ with passion and was always ready to take on any apostolate if he saw it
answering the needs of the Church. The "glory of God, the good of the Church and the sanctification of
souls" were impelling forces for him.

Bishop o f Marseilles

The Diocese of Marseilles had been suppressed after the 1802 Concordat, and when it was re-
established, Eugene's aged uncle, Canon Fortune de Mazenod, was named Bishop. He appointed Eugene
Vicar General immediately, and most of the difficult work of re-building the Diocese fell to him. Within a
few years, in 1832, Eugene himself was named auxiliary bishop. His Episcopal ordination took place in
Rome, in defiance of the pretensions of the French Government that it had the right to sanction all such
appointments. This caused a bitter diplomatic battle, and Eugene was caught in the middle, with
accusations, misunderstandings, threats, and recriminations swirling around him. It was an especially
devastating time for him, further complicated by the growing pains of his religious family. Though
battered, Eugene steered ahead resolutely, and finally the impasse was broken. Five years later, he was
appointed to the See of Marseilles as its Bishop, when Bishop Fortune retired.

A heart as big as the world

Whilst he had founded the Oblates of Mary Immaculate primarily to serve the spiritually needy and
deprived of the French countryside, Eugene's zeal for the Kingdom of God and his devotion to the
Church moved the Oblates to the advancing edge of the apostolate. His men ventured into Switzerland,
England, Ireland. Because of his zeal, Eugene had been dubbed "a second Paul," and bishops from the
missions came to him asking for Oblates for their expanding mission fields. Eugene responded willingly
despite small initial numbers, and sent his men out to Canada, to the United States, to Ceylon (Sri Lanka),
to South Africa, to Basutoland (Lesotho). As missionaries in his mould, they fanned out preaching,
baptising, caring. They frequently opened up previously uncharted lands, established and manned many
new dioceses, and in a multitude of ways they "left nothing undared that the Kingdom of Christ might be
advanced." In the years that followed, the Oblate mission thrust continued, so that today the impulse of
Eugene de Mazenod is alive in his men in 68 different countries.
 Pastor of his Diocese

During all this ferment of missionary activity, Eugene was an outstanding pastor of the Church of
Marseilles-ensuring the best seminary training for his priests, establishing new parishes, building the
city's cathedral and the spectacular Shrine of Notre Dame de la Garde above the city, encouraging his
priests to lives of holiness, introducing many Religious Congregations to work in the diocese, leading his
fellow Bishops in support of the rights of the Pope. He grew into a towering figure in the French Church.
In 1856, Napoleon III appointed him a Senator, and at his death he was the senior bishop of France.

Legacy of a Saint

May 21, 1861, saw Eugene de Mazenod returning to his God, at the age of 79, after a life crowded with
achievements, many of them born in suffering. For his religious family and for his diocese, he was a
founding and life-giving source: for God and for the Church, he was a faithful and generous son. As he lay
dying he left his Oblates a final testament, "Among yourselves-charity, charity, charity: in the world-zeal
for souls." The Church in declaring him a saint on December 3, 1995, crowns these two pivots of his
living-love and zeal. His life and his deeds remain for all a window unto God Himself. And that is the
greatest gift that Eugene de Mazenod, Oblate of Mary Immaculate, can offer us.