Saint Eugene De Mazenod

Biography

Saint Eugene De Mazenod, also known as Charles Joseph Eugene de Mazenod and Carlo Eugenio de Mazenod, was born on 1 August 1782 in Aix-en-Provence, southern France. He was the eldest son of Charles-Antoine De Mazenod and Marie-Rose Joannis. His mother came from the French middle class, was convent-educated, and wealthy, while his father was an aristocrat, classically educated, but poor. Their marriage was plagued by constant family conflict, and Eugene's maternal grandmother and neurotic maternal aunt constantly reminded his father that they brought the family's wealth. At the age of eight, on 13 December 1790, Eugene and his family fled to Italy to escape the French Revolution. They spent eleven years living in various cities in Italy, including Nice, Turin, Venice, Naples, and Palermo. During this time, Eugene learned Italian and German, but it was in Venice that he received the bulk of his education from Father Bartolo Zinelli, a local priest. In Palermo, he experienced a wild and worldly life among the rich young Italian nobles. After the Revolution, Eugene's mother returned to France, but his father stayed in Italy for political reasons. When Eugene returned to France in 1802 in an attempt to reunite his parents, he failed, and they were divorced, which was quite unusual at the time. The tumultuous nature of his home life and the eventual break-up of his family deeply affected Eugene, leading to his patronage of dysfunctional families and those within them. Eugene struggled within himself, torn between the worldly life he experienced in Palermo and the beauty of the religious life he witnessed in Venice. To resolve this conflict, he began teaching catechism and working with prisoners in 1805. It was during this time that Eugene had a mystical experience at the foot of a cross on Good Friday in 1807. This experience touched him deeply with the love of God and solidified his decision to enter the seminary of Saint Sulpice in Paris in 1808. He was ordained as a priest on 21 December 1811 at the age of 29 in Amiens, France. Due to his noble birth, Eugene was immediately offered the position of Vicar General to the bishop of Amiens. However, he renounced his family's wealth and chose to become a parish priest in Aix-en-Provence. There, he dedicated himself to working among the poor, preaching missions, and bringing the Church to the marginalized in their native Provencal dialect. Eugene also worked tirelessly among the sick, prisoners, the poor, and the overlooked young. During his work in prisons, he contracted typhus and nearly died. Gathering other clergy and laymen around him, Eugene established a community of workers in a former Carmelite convent. These priests formed the Missionaries of Provence, who conducted parish missions throughout the region. The success of their work led to requests from outside the region, prompting Eugene to seek formal approval from Pope Leo XII. On 17 February 1826, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, founded on Eugene's core group of missionaries, received official recognition. Although Eugene would have preferred to remain a missionary, he recognized that his position within the Church hierarchy would allow him to ensure the success of his congregation. He was appointed Vicar-General of Marseille in 1823, then became the titular bishop of Icosia on 14 October 1832. In 1834, he became the coadjutor and eventually the Bishop of Marseilles on 24 December 1837, ordained by Pope Gregory XVI. During his time as bishop, Eugene founded 23 parishes and built or restored 50 churches. He also provided care for aged and persecuted priests, restored ecclesiastical discipline, and developed catechetics for young people. Notably, he began the work on the cathedral and shrine of Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille. Additionally, Eugene welcomed 33 congregations of religious brothers and sisters into the diocese, more than doubled the number of priests, and performed all ordinations himself. Eugene actively worked to realign parishes and weaken the government monopoly on education. He was an outspoken supporter of the papacy and opposed government intervention in Church matters. He publicly endorsed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and labored for its promulgation. His writings, which span 25 volumes, have left a lasting legacy. Because of his significant contributions, Eugene was made a peer of the French Empire and was appointed Archbishop of Marseille in 1851 by Pope Blessed Pius IX. He also aided Saint Emily de Vialar in the rebuilding of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition after their move to Marseille. In 1856, he was named a senator and a member of the Legion of Honour by Napoleon III. In 1859, he was proposed as a cardinal. On 2 December 1841, Bishop De Mazenod's first overseas missionaries arrived in Canada. By the time of his death on 21 May 1861 in Marseille, France, Eugene had established six Oblate bishops and over 400 missionaries working in ten countries. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate continue their mission to this day, with around 5,000 missionaries active in 68 countries. Saint Eugene De Mazenod was recognized for his heroic virtues on 19 November 1970 by Pope Paul VI. He was beatified by the same pope on 19 October 1975. Eventually, he was canonized on 3 December 1995 by Pope John Paul II at Saint Peter's Square in Rome, Italy. Saint Eugene De Mazenod is revered as the patron saint of dysfunctional families. His body was found to be intact when exhumed on 12 December 1936, and part of his heart is venerated at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the Oblate-owned Lourdes Grotto of the Southwest in San Antonio, Texas, USA.