WHO ARE THE OBLATES OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES ?

Founded in Troyes, France in 1871 by Father Louis Brisson, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales are a Roman Catholic religious congregation of Priests and Brothers who are committed to imitating Jesus Christ in the spirit of St. Francis de Sales.

The Oblates exist to follow and disseminate the spiritual heritage of their Patron, St. Francis de Sales. They are guided by the practice of their motto: "Live+Jesus" or "to live as Jesus lived," the motto that St. Francis de Sales wanted to inscribe in everyone's heart. Therefore, every Oblate strives to make of his life an "Oblatus" or "a complete offering to God."

HOW DO THE OBLATES SERVE THE CHURCH AND SOCIETY?

The Oblates have traditionally worked to fill every need of the Church, conscious of its impact on the needs of society. Today they work as missionaries; college and high school administrators and teachers; military, convent, and hospital chaplains; parish priests, diocesan officials; retreat masters; counselors in a variety of programs, writers; board members of religious, educational and community organizations; and even as government advisors.

Their versatility and the broad spectrum of their expertise which reflects the Christian humanistic spirit of St. Francis de Sales, has always been one of their strengths. The Oblates, who strive to be "all things to all men," carry their Salesian Heritage and Spirit with them wherever they go. It stamps all of the work they do for the Church and society with their own distinct and special Oblate Character.

WHO IS ST. FRANCIS DE SALES?

Admired throughout the Church for his great sanctity, learning, missionary zeal, gentleness, and understanding of the human heart, St. Francis de Sales was born in the Duchy of Savoy in 1567. He is best described as a Christian Humanist. a potent spiritual force in his own day for creating a spirituality admirably suited to those in every walk of life, especially the laity, no once could have imagined at the time of his death that the wisdom and teachings of this Bishop of Geneva would live on in his many written works to touch the lives of countless people today. In his books and many letters, he has left a broad spiritual heritage that has radically affected the course of modern Christianity. Those who honor him as their patron - The Salesian Family - form the second largest Catholic religious family in the world today.

Known as "The Gentleman Saint," his spirit of optimism, hope, freedom and confidence in God's love prompts the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales to please God by doing everything - big or small enthusiastically and well.

For his holy life and for the voluminous written works he has left us, St. Francis was named a - Doctor of the Universal Church - in 1877

For his ability as a writer and his masterful use of the printing press to explain disputed Church teachings, he was named - The Patron of Authors and Journalists and Patron of the Catholic Press - in 1923.

For his missionary zeal in winning back thousands of those who followed Calvin, he was named a - Patron of the Catholic Missions.

For the compassion he showed (inventing a sign language) when instructing a young deaf man in the faith, he was named - Patron of the Deaf and Hearing Impaired.

His spirit of love and compassion for his fellow human beings inspires Oblates to treat all those touch their lives with respect and love, always being conscious of their problems and needs.

In the words of Father Brisson, their founder, the Oblates "should strive to live the Gospel," so that, once gain, people will be able to see, "Our Lord walking on earth."

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OBLATES OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES

After establishing themselves in France in 1871, the Oblates answered the call of the Holy See for missionaries to South Africa and South America. In 1882, the Oblates began to found what has become today a broad circuit of mission parishes in South Africa, Namibia, and more recently in Benin in Africa. In 1884, the Oblates began sending missionaries to South America where, today they administer mission parishes in Brazil, Uruguay and Mexico.

When anti-clerical laws in France, beginning in 1899, forced many priests and religious to leave France, the Oblates, like the others, sought refuge in new lands - Austria, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the United States. One blessing that came from the pain of this period was the establishment of so many new Oblate foundations - foundations that took root and have grown into many independent provinces today.

THE OBLATES ARRIVE IN NORTH AMERICA

The Oblates first came to the United States in 1893 as chaplains of the Sisters of Divine Compassion in White Plains, New York. However, the first permanent Oblate community in the United States was not established until 1903, when the Oblates opened the doors of the Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware.

Beginning with John Francis Tucker, one of the first students at the Salesianum School ( who later became the Rev. J. Francis Tucker, OSFS, the First American Oblate), American seemed very much attracted to the Oblates and their Salesian spirit, and the congregation grew steadily in numbers. In time, the Oblates began to administer other schools - Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Michigan, Virginia, Utah California, and Florida. The Oblates also began to administer many parishes, not only in the states where they were already established, but in new states: in Oklahoma, Colorado, Louisiana, North Carolina, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

By 1964, the congregation in the United States had grown so large and the single American Province covered a vast territory that in 1965, the decision was made to divide the one existing American Province into two: with one headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and the other in Toledo, Ohio. It is ironic that, that same year the Church began to experience a decline in the numbers of young men and women willing to make the necessary sacrifices and enter the religious life.

Like the Church in general, the Oblates have had to learn to do more with fewer resources. More fortunate than most religious congregations, the Oblates continue to draw young men to their ranks - fewer, but highly motivated and very dedicated Fortunately, the Oblates have not had to reduce drastically their commitments, and, in several areas, their ministry continues to grow.

For a free subscription to the Wilmington/Philadelphia Province Newsletter, The De Sales World, please feel free to write:

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
P. O. Box 1452
Wilmington, DE 19899
www.oblates.org

<back>