40. "St. Eugene de Mazenod, OMI"

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St. Eugene de Mazenod

Founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

St. Eugene was born into a noble French family in 1782. When he was just a young boy, his family had to flee for their lives because of the revolution. Eugene grew up in Italy under very privileged conditions. His parents divorced and the family was very dysfunctional. Since the mother was of the nobility and Eugene was now a young man, he was swept into the life of high-society which he thoroughly enjoyed. His mother was hoping her son would find a wife, wealthy and noble.

After the revolution, they moved back to France. It was there that he discovered his vocation to be a priest. There was an extreme shortage of priests, especially for the poor. He found that his vocation as a priest was to minister to the poor, prisoners, young people. Soon other young priests were drawn to follow in Eugene’s footsteps. In 1826 the Church approved The Rule written by Eugene for his order. When he died in 1861 he had already sent missionaries to countries around the world.

In the icon, Eugene is standing on the globe. The places indicated are where he had already sent missionaries. On the scroll are written excerpts from his famous sermon to the poor. "Poor of Jesus Christ... let your eyes see for once beneath the rags that cover you... You are God's children."