Saint Charles-Joseph-Eugene de Mazenod

Eugène de Mazenod, OMI (born Charles-Joseph-Eugène de Mazenod; 1 August 1782 – 21 May 1861) was a French aristocrat and Catholic bishop who founded the congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. When he was eight years old, Mazenod's family fled the French Revolution and left its considerable wealth behind. As refugees in Italy, they were poor and moved from place to place. He returned to France at the age of twenty and later became a priest. Initially focused on rebuilding the Church in France after the Revolution, his mission soon extended, particularly to British North America. Mazenod was appointed bishop of Marseille in 1837, and archbishop in 1851. Mazenod was beatified on 19 October 1975. He was canonized twenty years later on 3 December 1995. The Catholic Church commemorates him with an optional memorial on 21 May, the anniversary of his death. Eugène de Mazenod was born on 1 August 1782 and baptized the following day in the Église de la Madeleine in Aix-en-Provence. His father, Charles Antoine de Mazenod, was one of the Presidents of the Court of Finances, and his mother was Marie Rose Joannis. Eugène began his schooling at the College Bourbon, but it was interrupted by the events of the French Revolution. With the approach of the French revolutionary forces, the family fled to Italy. Eugène became a boarder at the College of Nobles in Turin (Piedmont), but a move to Venice meant the end to formal schooling. With their money running out, Eugène's father sought various employment, none of which were successful. His mother and sister returned to France and eventually seeking a divorce to be able to regain their seized property. Eugène was fortunate to be welcomed by the Zinelli family in Venice. One of their sons, the priest Bartolo Zinelli, took special care of Eugène and saw to his education in the well-provided family library where the young adolescent spent many hours each day.