FOUNDING
THE
MISSIONARIES
1. To help the chuch in distres
Eugene de Mazenod asked the missionaries to
contemplate in Christ especially the One who
saves. The people are in danger of death, Jesus is
there as Savior. He cannot save unless some
others commit themselves with him to this task.
The missionaries are thus the collaborators of the
Christ who saves. In France, the idea of a group of
priests specialized in parish missions was Vincent
de Paul’s idea. His heart was also touched by the
discovery of the sad state of the Church.
3. Approval of the Diocesan Authorities
Though the request for authorization for the
Missionaries of Provence is made to the
capitular vicars on January 25, 1816, it is Guigou
who will deliver the official affirmative response
four days later.
5. The search for Compassion
Eugene's interactions with people he suspected of being
his companions have a complicated background. Icard
appears to be the first. Hilaire Aubert, Maunier, Mie,
Deblieu, and finally Tempier, with whom the majority of
the correspondence has survived. Eugene's letter to
Halaire Aubert, written possibly in September 1815, was
discovered in the Archives of the Holy Childhood in Paris.
7. Eugene de Mazenod, September 1815
He was a "priest-director" at the major seminary of the
Limoges at the time, and he was originally from the
diocese of Aix. Aubert favored the French missionaries Fr.
Rauzan and Fobrin Janson.
Everything points to August or early September 1815 as the
time when Eugene overcame his apprehension and began the
process outlined above: at the very least, obtaining the
Of provence
2. An overview of the project
Eugene's state of mind during these pivotal periods. In August 1817, Bishop
Bausset was named Archbishop of Aix. He was not installed until November 13,
1819, for a variety of personal and administrative reasons. Eugene de Mazenod
was someone he knew, although he had mixed feelings about him. Eugene writes
to him a month after his installation, on December 16, to tell him the narrative of
the Missionaries of Provence's beginnings (OW 13, 35-37). This letter is almost
entirely worth quoting. Eugene de Mazenod emphasizes his decision to serve the
diocese of Aix, as well as the Vicars General (despite the fact that the foundation
of Notre Dame du Laus the previous year is not mentioned).
4. Lodging and Financial Problem
Eugene de Mazenod had considered the Enclos, a former country
house of the Joannis Family that belonged to madame fr Mazenod,
as a place to house missionaries. The enclos is located on the
outskirts of Aix, in the northwestern part of the city. Eugene went
there to rest from time to time, and he seemed to have lingered
there for a while, most likely reading brother Maur. In a letter to
Fprbin Janson dated October 28, 1824, he outlined his hypothesis.
6. The Letter to Hilaira Aubert and Tampier
Fortunately the letter from Eugene de Mazenod to Hilaire Aubert
and most of the correspondence with Tempier is still extant.
Although these texts are available in various publications, the
most recent being in Oblate writings, it seems useful to repeat
them here. These are the founding texts of the Obletes.
Surprisingly, they have not aged. All the spontaneity that much
8.later
“October 2, we
will be called laid the
charisma foundation
is expressed in them. The call of 1815
still echoes today.
Presumably this date of October 2-scenes hard to
choose a date-was taken because it is the one on
which the approval had been given for the
purchase of the Carmelite convent, as suggested in
 9. October to December 1815 10. Last preparations

On october 9, Eugene writes his first letter
to Tempier. On October 23 and 24, Eugene
writes to Torres' friend Charles to brief him
on the situation. Later on Tempier’s letter
announcing his imminent arrival in Aix, if of
December 20.
It was about this time, though exact dates are
uncertain, that Icard was enlisted to preach a mission,
which he had previously completed. It located about
30 kilometers south of Brinoles in Pignans, in the Var,
which was once part of the diocese of Aix.

11. January 05, 1816

It appears that the initial five missionaries met and held their
first meeting on January 25. They completed and signed the
petition of the capitular Vicars General. The explanation of
grounds for the request and the provisional regulation are the
two sections of this petition that are immediately
distinguishable.