Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

Last updated
Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
AbbreviationO.S.F.S.
Formation21 December 1875;148 years ago (1875-12-21)
Type Roman Catholic religious order
HeadquartersGeneralate
Location
Barry Strong, O.S.F.S.
Key people
Louis Brisson—founder
Marie de Sales Chappuis—founder
Website www.desalesoblates.org

The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (Latin: Oblati Sancti Francisci Salesii, O.S.F.S.) are a congregation of Catholic priests and brothers who follow the teachings of Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal. The community was founded in Troyes in 1875 by Louis Brisson and are affiliated with the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales.

Contents

History

Foundation

Louis Brisson Young Louis Brisson.jpg
Louis Brisson

An order of cloistered nuns, the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, was founded by Francis de Sales at the request of Jane Frances de Chantal in 1610. The establishment of an Oratory at Thonon, where Francis served as the first Provost, was a preparatory step toward carrying out his design, the accomplishment of which was prevented by his death. With Chantal's encouragement and assistance, Raymond Bonal of Adge, in France, carried out his plan, but this congregation died out at the beginning of the 18th century. Two hundred years later it was revived by Marie de Sales Chappuis (died 7 October 1875) and Louis Brisson, a professor in the Seminary of Troyes. In 1869, Brisson established Saint Bernard Collège, near Troyes. In September 1871, a priest by the name of Gilbert (died 10 November 1909) joined him and Emmanuel-Jules Ravinet, Bishop of Troyes, received them and four companions into the novitiate. [1]

Pope Pius IX temporarily approved their constitutions on 21 December 1875. The first vows were made 27 August 1876. The definitive approbation of their constitution was given on 8 December 1897. [1]

Development

The congregation gradually developed in France. It numbered seven colleges and five other educational houses when the Government closed them all, 31 July 1903. The founder retired to Plancy where he died 2 February 1908. The Generalate was transferred to Rome, and in 1909, the church of Sts. Celsus and Julian in was entrusted to them. Oblate refers to persons, especially in the Middle Ages, who offered themselves and their property to a monastery.

Today

The members of this religious order are of two states, clerics and lay brothers. Today the Oblates are located throughout the world, in Holland, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Italy, India, South Africa, Namibia, Benin, Ivory Coast, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Haiti and the United States. [2] The Generalate is located in Rome.

The order is governed by a superior general elected every six years; and four counsellors general elected by the general chapter. Each province is administered by a provincial superior, appointed by the superior general and his council for four years. He is assisted by three counsellors elected at each provincial chapter, which meets every four years, at an interval of six years between the regular general chapters. [3]

Apostolate

Oblates engage in a wide variety of areas of service. Oblates are apostolates of education, parish work and foreign missions. They also work as teachers at religious and secular colleges and missionary areas as well as serving in military, campus, hospital, and convent chaplaincies and in inner-city social work.

Formation

The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales offer an Associate Program, designed to help young men discern a possible call to religious life and priesthood during their college years. The Postulate period lasts for a year, during which the candidate with and participates in the life of an Oblate community, in order to smooth the transition from his present lifestyle to Oblate community living. The one-year Novitiate is taken up with studies, particularly Salesian spirituality. For the first three years following first vows, Oblate renew their vows annually, and then profess perpetual vows. Generally, a Ministerial Internship takes place after the novitiate. Candidates for ordination pursue further studies in academic, professional and pastoral education. [4]

In the early 20th century they had the following membership:

In Walmer (Kent, England) they operated a boarding school for boys, the chaplaincy of the Visitation Convent and Academy of Roselands and a small parish in Faversham. To this province belonged the Apostolic Vicariate of Orange River. [1]

In Africa

When the Vicar Apostolic of Cape of Good Hope, John Leonard, heard that the Society of African Missions of Lyons had decided to recall its subjects from Namaqualand and the North Western Cape, he made a trip to Europe in 1880 in hopes of finding a Congregation willing to assume the responsibility of evangelizing these districts. In 1881, Brisson spoke with Pope Leo XIII and accepted a foreign mission to South Africa which put the governance of the Oblates under the Pope through the Propagation of the Faith. [5] Brisson sent five missionary priests in 1882, to fulfill Leonard's request. South Africa Missions were founded in Pella in 1882, [6] Matjieskloof in 1885, Nababeep in 1900, O'kiep in 1904, and Port Nolloth in 1904. Namibia Missions were founded in Heirachabies in 1896, Warmbad in 1907, and Gabis in 1907.

In North America

In 1893, the first Oblate priest arrived in the United States to serve as chaplain for the Sisters of the Divine Compassion, a religious community founded in 1886 in the Archdiocese of New York by Mary Dannat Starr and Thomas S. Preston. In 1903, the first English speaking province was established in Wilmington, Delaware, as was Salesianum School, a high school for boys. [7]

In 1906, the order expanded by purchasing a 210-acre farm, at the edge of Childs, a village in northeastern Maryland. On the rolling hillside near the B & O Railroad, they had convenient access to nearby Wilmington. Once the buildings went up and the "Novitiate of the Oblate Farthers of St. Francis de Sales" was dedicated on October 6, 1907, a local newspaper reported. [8] Today, the property is used by the order as a retirement facility. [9]

After early years of modest expansion, the American Province flourished during the 1940s and 1950s with many vocations from schools it conducted in the Wilmington, Philadelphia, Toledo, Detroit, and Niagara Falls, New York, areas. DeSales Spirituality Services is a web based ministry of the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province offering resources in spirituality. [4] As of 2017, there were 145 priests, brothers and seminarians in the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province. [10]

In 1966, the American Province was split into the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province, which encompassed the eastern and southern states, and the Toledo-Detroit Province, which encompassed the central and western states. [5]

Child abuse

McCartney v. Oblates of St. Francis De Sales was a court case appealed to the Ohio Court of Appeals in which a former teacher at St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo, Ohio sued the principal and a student advisor for slander. In 1983, the teacher was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor by providing alcohol to one of his students. Although his contract was subsequently not renewed, the teacher, a former yearbook advisor, remained in touch with the yearbook staff. On a subsequent yearbook "overnight", it was reported to the faculty advisor that his predecessor had been seen drinking beer in the school parking lot with two students and that they subsequently left the premises. The faculty adviser conveyed this information to the students' parents, along with information regarding the previous conviction. The former teacher sued the school for slander. The lower court found in favor of the school and the appellate affirmed court. [11]

In 2015, James Roth, an Oblate priest, admitted that he perpetrated child sexual abuse in Ohio. [12]

James Francis Rapp, an Oblate priest, was convicted in 1999 in Oklahoma and 2016 in Michigan of child sexual abuse. [13]

Wilmington/Philadelphia Province

Toledo/Detroit Province

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur</span> Catholic institute of religious sisters

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur are a Catholic institute of religious sisters, founded to provide education to the poor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate</span> Catholic missionary order

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation was given recognition by Pope Leo XII on February 17, 1826. As of January 2020, the congregation was composed of 3,631 priests and lay brothers usually living in community. Their traditional salutation is Laudetur Iesus Christus, to which the response is Et Maria Immaculata. Members use the post-nominal letters, "OMI".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis de Sales</span> Bishop of Geneva and Catholic saint (1567–1622)

Francis de Sales, C.O., O.M. was a Savoyard Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Geneva and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redemptorists</span> Catholic missionary order

The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men. It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala, Italy, for the purpose of labouring among the neglected country people around Naples. It is dedicated to missionary work and they minister in more than 100 countries. Members of the congregation are Catholic priests and consecrated religious brothers.

Salesianum School is a Catholic independent school for boys located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is run independently within the Diocese of Wilmington and is operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Delaware and Maryland, United States

The Diocese of Wilmington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory – or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the eastern United States. The diocese comprises the entire state of Delaware and the Eastern Shore Region of Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missionaries of the Precious Blood</span>

The Missionaries of the Precious Blood is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of the Divine Word</span> Catholic missionary religious congregation

The Society of the Divine Word, abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. As of 2020, it consisted of 5,965 members composed of priests and religious brothers working in more than 70 countries, now part of VIVAT international. It is one of the largest missionary congregations in the Catholic Church. Its members add the nominal letters SVD after their names to indicate membership in the Congregation. The superior general is Paulus Budi Kleden who hails from Indonesia.

The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.

The Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance or simply the Third Order Regular of St. Francis is a mendicant order rooted in the Third Order of St. Francis which was founded in 1221. The members add the nominal letters T.O.R. after their names to indicate their membership in the congregation.

The Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS), also known as the Fransalians, was founded in Annecy, France on 24 October 1838 by Peter Mermier under the patronage of Francis de Sales. Mermier felt that the political disturbances of the French Revolution had left the French people in spiritual crisis, and took up preaching parish missions in the hope of bringing about spiritual renewal. This special apostolate in turn gave rise to a community of preachers gathered around Mermier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Company of Mary</span> Catholic missionary religious congregation

The Missionaries of the Company of Mary is a missionary religious congregation within the Catholic Church. The community was founded by Saint Louis de Montfort in 1705 with the recruitment of his first missionary disciple, Mathurin Rangeard. The congregation is made up of priests and brothers who serve both in the native lands and in other countries. The Montfortian Family comprises three groups: the Company of Mary, the Daughters of Wisdom and the Brothers of Saint Gabriel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marie de Sales Chappuis</span> 19th-century French nun and foundress

Marie de Sales Chappuis, VHM was a Catholic nun and a spiritual leader in the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. She also co-founded the congregation of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales along with Louis Brisson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Brisson</span>

Louis Brisson, OSFS was a French Roman Catholic priest and the founder of both the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales and the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. He founded the female branch alongside Léonie Aviat and the male branch alongside the Servant of God Thérèse Chappuis. Brisson's founding of the congregations stemmed from his desire to improve the working conditions of middle-class girls and to ensure their protection and the promotion of their faith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonie Aviat</span> French Roman Catholic saint

Léonie Aviat, her religious name Françoise de Sales, was a Roman Catholic professed religious and the co-founder along with Louis Brisson of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales</span>

The Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales are a congregation of Roman Catholic Religious Sisters who base their spirituality on the teachings of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal.

John Francis Harvey was a Catholic priest, a moral theologian, an educator and the founder of the DeSales School Theology in Washington, DC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John M. McDevitt</span> American politician

John Michael McDevitt, Jr., OSFS, was a Democratic politician from Philadelphia who later became a Roman Catholic priest and educator. In 2011, the Oblates of St Francis de Sales priests admitted that McDevitt was a child molestor as part of a lawsuit settlement in the State of Delaware.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wikisource-logo.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  2. OSFS South African Region
  3. Owens, Joseph P. "Wilmington resident Father Barry Strong named to oversee Oblates in Rome", The Dialog, Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, September 7, 2018
  4. 1 2 The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Wilmington-Philadelphia Province
  5. 1 2 OSFS North American Provinces
  6. Bishop Simon, John Marie (1959). Bishop for the Hottentots. USA: Benzinger Brothers Inc , No. 2754.
  7. De Salle University
  8. admin (2022-12-29). "Oblate Farthers of St. Francis de Sales Purchased Farm". Window on Cecil County's Past. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  9. "New Roof for Annecy Hall". Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  10. Lang, Mike. "Oblate provincial to be president of DeSales University", The Dialog, 2 April 2017
  11. McCartney v. Oblates of St. Francis De Sales, 609 N.E.2d 216 (Ohio Ct. App. 1992)
  12. McKenna, Fr. Ken, Provincial of the Toledo-Detroit Province of the Oblates of St Francis de Sales, Statement on Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
  13. Romano, Lois (May 21, 2002). "Okla. Archbishop Failed to Oust Priest". Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  14. "About us", Father Judge High School