Emmanuel d’Alzonfounder of the

Augustinians of the Assumption &Oblates of the Assumption

Assumptionistsare religious who live

an apostolic communities.Faithful to our founder

Father Emmanuel d’Alzon,we propose before all else

to work, out of love of Jesus Christ,for the coming of the Kingdom of God

in us and around us.

When God sees his people in need,he calls individuals to respond. Hegives them the grace of compassionand love like His own; and thestrength to respond. He calls themand he sends them forth.In the Church of the XIX century,Emmanuel d’Alzon, the founder of theAugustinians of the Assumption – theAssumptionists – and the Oblates ofthe Assumption, was one of thesemen. Sensitive, by nature and by grace,to the great changes in his country andthe world after the French Revolution,he suffered wherever God wasthreatened in anyone and anyone wasthreatened as image of God.His passion for the coming of God'sKingdom, his passion for Jesus Christand for everything that Jesus Christ

loves, urged him to share them firstwith the Laity, before sharing themwith his brother and sisterAssumptionists. Emmanuel d’Alzonmade them aware of the greatcauses of God and the people oftheir time. He urged them to adoptnew and daring paths: a mission inthe Orient, journalism, pilgrimages,seminaries for the poor, etc.

But before all else, he invited them inone and the same movement to

.After the death of their founder, theAssumption seeks to continue hiswork, out of love of Christ and forthe coming of the Kingdom of God.

Father Hervé Stéphan, Assumptionist,Superior General 1975-1987

Your Kingdom Come

W ea man of the Church can be definedgeographically and psychologically, hewas Vicar General of his diocese forforty years, and he founded tworeligious families: the Augustinians ofthe Assumption, called Assumptionists(1850), and the Oblates of theAssumption (1865). He played asignificant role in the birth of theReligious of the Assumption (1839).Throughout his life, Emmanuel d’Alzonoverflowed with activity, initiatives andprojects and never hesitated to leadfrom the front. He found his strengthin the long hours he spent in prayer.

So let us turn now to the time of hisbirth to gain a better understanding ofhis life and journey to the Assumption.

hat do you know of FatherEmmanuel d’Alzon? If you livein Nîmes or in that area, you

may have heard someone mention hisname at one time or another. This manof the XIX century (1810-1880),merits more than the mere mention ina history book and his congregation,the Augustinians of the Assumption,founded in 1845 in Nîmes, more thanthe traditional stroke of the pen ofDaniel Rops, following theconfrontations that poisoned theDreyfus affair at the end of the XIXand beginning of the XX century.Besides, by that time Father d’Alzonhad been dead for twenty years.

A son of the Cévennes, of southernorigin in appearance as well as spirit, if

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E D’Alzon belonged to a famousbourgeois family enriched byoffices and of recent nobilitywhom the Revolution pursuedwith vengeful hatred. WhenEmmanuel was born, August 30,1810, in the ancestral house atCondamine in Vigan, France hadentered the last beautiful days ofthe empire before the twilight ofthe disasters of the war with Spain

mmanuel d’Alzon was born intoan aristocratic family, through hisfather Henri, the Daudé d’Alzon,

recent nobility of Viganaise origin al-most ruined by the Revolution. In theXVII century, the eldest branch decidedto leave the harshness of the Cevennesfor the vast sunny plains of the Langue-doc. Through his mother (Faventinede Montredon), Emmanuel d’Alzon

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In 1816, the château at Lavagnac(near Montague in the Hérault)purchased in 1790 by the Faventines,heirs of the Conti princes, now totallyrestored, provided a home for thed’Alzons that was less austere thanVigan. In close proximity to theHérault, an excellent region forswimming in the warm waters ofsummer. The large agricultural arealinked to the château allowed them to

live off the rents and tenant farmerswithout any worries abouttomorrow, and maintain their placeat the heart of the beautifulLanguedocian society. Viscount Henrid’Alzon, tempted by demon politics,had himself elected by a hand voteunder official scrutiny on severaloccasions.

It could be deduced from all this thatEmmanuel d’Alzon only experiencedthe delights of Capoueduring his childhood. It is true that hehad the fortune of access to the culturalriches of the elite and a goodeducation; he also benefited fromthe advantages of his birth: affluence,relationships, and emancipation froman all consuming manual labour. Butthis would too easily ignore hisconcrete environment and theresponsibilities linked with it aswell as his own conception of achivalrous sense of honour andChristian responsibility.

The château at Lavagnac

Opportunities and Duties

and the defeat of Russia. There weremany stories to tell the family in theevening about the major and minorevents that embossed more thantwenty-five years of political upheaval.At Vigan, one remembered the visit ofa black cardinal, Giulio Gabrielli, sepa-rated from the papal court, itself a pris-oner at Fontainebleau, who hadbenefited from the hospitality of thed’Alzons and predicted, in a blessing,the destiny of this family's child.

When Providence places someone atthe summit of a social elite, it is not fortheir egoistical benefit to gain anadvantageous position, but to teachthem, during their life, to come tothe assistance of those who needhelp on their journey.

A united familyOne is always a child of one’s family.This was very true for Emmanuel. Hismilieu provided him with apsychological and emotionalequilibrium. The ties uniting him to hisparents and his two sisters, Augustineet Marie, remained very deep andbeneficial.Through his sister, Marie, married tothe Count of Puységur, Emmanuelexperienced the joys of a prolongedfamily life continued through theirdescendents.Three nephews and nieces providedhis frequent visits to Lavagnac with arefreshing air and ambiance muchneeded amidst his continualproblems and obligations.

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A s the Viscount d’Alzonwas forced to live in Parisin his role as deputy from

1817, it was decided that the wholefamily would move there for theschool year in 1823. Thus it wasthat Emmanuel for the first timeleft his much loved Midi. Thisdeparture was to be the prelude toa number of voyages in his life. Hisparents chose for him the bestscholastic establishments in thecapital, the first a public school.According to the terminology ofthe time (Saint Louis College, onthe boulevard Saint-Michel), thesecond, private -(Stanislas College,in the district of Notre-Dame desChamps). Public at that epoch didnot signify lay, and private did notmean adherence to any particularconfession. After a short period of

adaptation to the city and newroutine), Emmanuel enthusiasticallypursued, an intellectual and spiritualformation given in these colleges,preferring this open, stimulating, andcommunal milieu to that of tutoring,which was more«stifling» being strictlyfamilial and individual. He was inspiredby this experience when he laterfound himself in charge of animportant school at Nîmes, theCollege of the Assumption in 1844.He never ceased to advise parents tooffer their children the open andsocial educational milieu offered bythe colleges in their collective type ofeducation rather than all the old formsformerly employed by the wealthy.

In the XIX century, education wasstill just for the privileged,

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especially in secondary education.Primary education was improving,thanks particularly to the growth ofreligious congregations of men andwomen and certain forms of socialistcampaigns. The urban bourgeoisie,although traditionally anti-clerical,never hesitated to entrust their sonsto these religious institutions

(notably the Jesuits)and their daughters to theconvents, out of a desire for themto learn ratherthan for the sciences. The FrenchState was more concerned withteaching than education, andencouraged the communes toopen primary schools (Guizot Law,1833), and colleges for boys in thecities and the large market towns thatserved as the breeding ground forfuture public functionaries andliberal professions, while willinglyabandoning the many regionalChurch establishments: minor

institutions and boarding schools of allkinds (Falloux Law,1850).Yet, under the Second Empire, there wasa growing animosity in secular societyand Universities towards this easydiversion of the State authorities andthe monopoly of a fraction of youngpeople outside the official and publicAlma Mater. Thus there developed inFrance a growing angry split betweenthe supporters of a liberal educationwithout State control and the partisansof secular society who carefullyexcluded Congregations and the clergyfrom all areas of teaching and scholasticinstitutions.

En 1883, the proclaimedprimary education, public, free andsecular, reversing the process andpolitical and ideological consensus setup after the Revolution. Thisconquering secularism verging onsectarianism adopted a mission toexclude religion from schools and

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prohibited members ofCongregations from teaching.Father d’Alzon approached thisquestion not as a spectator but as amilitant and committed actor. It was,moreover, one of the passions ofhis life that he shares with familiestoday, concerned with giving theirchildren the best kind of education andpreparation for life through scholasticinstitutions that never cease tobroaden their horizons, methodsand programmes. He even had thesatisfaction of seeing the lead up to thelaw for the liberty of highereducation (Laboulaye Law, 1875),even if its content was soon to beemptied of significance by the newpolitical regime after 1879. In anyevent, it is impossible to understandthe life and activity of Father d’Alzon,or the early Assumption, if oneignores this educational andscholastic dimension at the heart oftheir respective existences.

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L ike all adolescents,Emmanuel faced all thequestions and uncertainties

of youth. Which profession shouldhe choose to follow?

He liked reading but also the army.There was a long tradition of themilitary in his family. His parentsdiscouraged their son from takingthis option, possibly superficial,and encouraged him to considersomething in line with the legalprofession with a leaning towardsbecoming a magistrate or enteringpolitics..It was without any realenthusiasm that Emanuel, in 1828,began his University studies in Law inParis so he abandoned them in(1830) because of current events.

Already in his heart anothercause was beginning to take root,not so much a career, more aproposition than an integrated lifecommitment. It did not divide up life,the person, or the activity but gavethem an orientation based on whathe called his key idea: the role andplace of God in his life and in society. Hefell under the influence of severalpriests, the most famous of whombeing Félicité de Lamennais, and hisstudents friends in Paris (d’Esgrigny,Gouraud, de La Gournerie) who, allurged him to wait. However,he preferred to put his project intoaction as soon as possible, but onlyafter giving himself a two year period forreflection, in solitude and in his family,far from the political and mediaupheavals of the day (1830-1832).

Military or Legal Profession?

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The idea of a vocation to thepriesthood for Emmanuel d’Alzonwas not just a youthful fantasy oremotional ideal, but a fully weighedup, mature decision that evaluated thesocial cost of pursuing this kind of life.

For him, to become a priest meanta commitment to actively work totransform society with the means,the concepts and the methodsavailable to the Church at thattime.

At the beginning, Emmanuel wasgreatly influenced by the fermentof new ideas that emanating from deLamennais, ideas that sought toliberate or sever the traditionalreligious links attached to or at theservice of the monarchists andGallicans.

“For him to become a Priestmeant a commitment to actand transform”

To serve God in society withoutsubmitting oneself to its traditionalsupports, to invent new relations withthe social groups that had developedsince the Revolution and were distantfrom the Church. In his meditationand solitude at Lavagnac hewelcomed in the depth of his beingthe gift of a priestly vocation to whichhe was not particularly predisposed,neither in his tastes, his habits, nor hisenvironment. Yet he knew how toopen himself in great liberty from hisenvironment so as not to become aprisoner of the prejudices of his milieu.

He turned the time spent at Lavagnacbetween 1830 and 1832 intoprolonged intellectual and spiritualretreat, reading the Bible and thegreat authors of the ChristianTradition, in search of God, in searchof himself, but also the overtones, the

Expectations and the new needsgenerated by a society stillrecovering from the shock of theRevolution. During this periodEmmanuel appears to be more

Open to the numerous questionsof society that remainedunanswered, than being a youngman comfortable with the easycertitudes of the dogmatists.

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A fter having vacillated forsome time, Emmanuelfinally chose to go to the

Major Seminary in Montpellier inmid-March 1832; the seminaryhad reopened ten years earlierthanks to the NapoleonicConcordat (1802).It was a rather rude awakeningfor this well bred, elegant youngman, who had tasted Parisianlife and was accustomed to theintellectual aerobics in voguethere than in this rather closedenvironment. What caused himmost suffering was his friendshipwith Lamennais whose liberalideas were greatly attacked bythe local Bishop, Fournier de laContamine and several professorsstill attached to Gallican ideals.

At the end of the school year in1833, after having received minororders, Emmanuel opted to goto Rome to continue histheological studies. Afterwards,he recognised the benefits of histime at Montpellier: the teachingof Father Ginoulhiac, a futureBishop, the beneficial friendship ofseveral teachers not much olderthan he (Fathers Fabre andVernières), the entire companyilluminated by seminarians like thefuture Father Soulas, and a goodtraining in liturgical piety(sacraments, offices). Hiscorrespondence with his familygives us a perfect outline of theatmosphere, methods and lifeproper to a major seminary atthat time. Theology had not yet

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recovered from the rupture ofthe Revolution. Life there,according to Emmanuel, was fartoo cut off from the intellectualferment that stimulated themost illuminated circles of theintelligentsia at that time,especially the new religious

expectations of the people.Thanks to the help and support ofseveral priests, he followed theevolution of thought by secretlyreading prohibited newspapersincluding one from Lamennais,

, founded in November1830, that had a finger on the pulse.

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n November 1833, Emmanuelset off for Rome, the centre ofCatholicism and, at that time

Capital of the Papal States. Helodged at the convent of theMinimes close to Spanish Place andfor a time followed courses at theGregorian. On the advice of someCardinals and theologians he knew(Micara, Mazzetti, Olivieri),Emmanuel decided to organise hisown education in his room, takingnotes from readings he chose. Healso spent time discovering the joysof the eternal City, its ancient ruins,its architectural and pictorialheritage, and also benefiting fromits animated liturgical life. He madefriends with the young MacCarthy,then an English seminarian and the

future Cardinal Wiseman, trying notto extend himself with too manyliabilities or worldly relationships towhich his name allowed him. Hewas always vigilant, he opened hismind and his faith to the largerrealities of the universal Church.But the pontificate of Gregory XVI,begun in 1831, was clearlyconservative, initially distrustful thenovertly hostile to the distress causedby a liberalism that questioned thepolitical status-quo of an Italianpeninsula divided into seven states.

The Menaisienne affair ragedclumsily in the Roman Court from1832 to 1834, in an atmosphere ofanti-liberalism. This was a great

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source of suffering for Emmanuelwho until then felt great sympathyfor the priest who was a symbol of anevolution consonant with the idealsof the day. He discovered thatecclesiastical Rome was also a centreof religious political scheming wherethe Gospel did not take first place andwhere Vatican diplomacy showedquestionable disregard towards thepowers of the world. He learned ofthe personal evolution ofLamennais who eventuallyremoved himself from hisecclesiastical commitments, soEmmanuel, moved towards thepriesthood, his heart dividedbetween his friendly trust for theman and his moral fidelity to theChurch.

At the heart of all these controversiesand condemnations, he sought tomaintain without repudiation, without

dependence, both his lovefor the Church and his friendship forLamennais until the ruptureconsumed the latter. This purifyingexperience taught him that it was wisealways to work for Rome, never againstRome, but sometimes without Rome.

He did not waver from his spiritualsearch and had the happiness of beingordained a priest, in private, byCardinal Odescalchi the day afterChristmas in 1834. Firmly resolved togive priority in his life to the spiritualinterests of the Church before anypolitical or partisan considerations, hehad the joy of an audience with PopeGregory XVI before bringing his firststay in Roman to an end in May 1835.He returned joyfully andaffectionately to his family atLavagnac, happy to benefit from theearly days of his priesthood aftermore than eighteen months absence.

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fter a meeting with theBishop de Chaffoy ofthe Diocese (1835),

who unequivocally dissuadedhim from having any form ofapostolate among theProtestants, Father d’Azonrapidly moved up theecclesiastical ladder. Soon aCanon and then honorary VicarGeneral, he quickly masteredhis new position and freedhimself totally for for theanimation of local Christian life,with a special interest in theyouth, even to the point ofattracting unkind judgments. Heused his spirit and zeal with anunusual freedom and energy,upsetting well establishedecclesiastical routines.

The successor to Bishop de Chaffroyanother Franc-comtois, Msgr Cart,deliberately made him Vicar General in1839, despite his young age, his lack ofpastoral experience and a temperamentdiametrically opposed to his. Fatherd’Alzon refused to stay at the EpiscopalPalace, preferring the freedom of a domicilein town which allowed him a certain degreeof independence and a rhythm of life morein keeping with his tastes .

His preoccupation with the Protestantsof the Midi saw him more than once stepup and debate issues, but always withcourtesy and with the sense of a personalrelationship that encouraged a franc

A desire for Unity

Vicar GeneralA

and free discussion of ideas alongwith an incontestable apostolicgoodwill.Ecumenism at that time was notactive on either side, and, despiteentrenched doctrinal andconfessional positions, they knewhow to agree on matters of publiclife, and human relationships werefriendly, and, in some cases,pleasant (de Larcy, de La Farelleand Girard).

Three activities filled Fatherd’Alzon’s attention from 1843: theinstallation of a Carmel in Nîmes, theprivileged relationship of spiritualdirection and friendship with a youngfounder in Paris, Mother Marie-Eugénie of Jesus, whom he met in1838 through the intervention of thefamous Father Combalot, and takingcharge of a school that was in thedecline, that became the home ofAssumption that he wanted to make

into a prestigious Catholic collage thatwas free: the College of theAssumption. Being the Director of thisestablishment increased hisrelationships with hundreds ofparents of pupils who came from thewhole Provence-Languedoc Regionplacing Fr. d’Alzon in daily contactwith young people. The schoolbecame his natural habitat until hisdeath and deepened his concept of aChristian education that he neverhesitated to assimilate into the workof the Incarnation: to form JesusChrist in people. Everyone of notebut also families lower in society,such as craftsmen and the workingclasses in Nîmes, could not ignorethe dynamism of this energeticpriest who was now thinking ofadopting the customs of religiouslife; being urged on by the apostolicspirit of the Religious of theAssumption, experienced in thework of education and thedevotions proper to a common life.

Major Projects

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F rom 1845 the College of theAssumption became thebirthplace of a founder. Thanks

o the courageous and devoted layhelp of Monnier and Germer-Durand, both Universitygraduates, Father d’Alzon, despitethe procrastinations of his Bishop,was inspired to create within hiscollege a spiritual movement underthe patronage of Saint Augustineand inspired by other religiousorders. He combined the devotionof religious life found in themonastery with the zeal found inmodern apostolic communitiespopular at that time. An association,in the style of a third order, gatheredtogether lay men and women to helpwith the pastoral work of the youngAssumption. This one, a masculine

Religious family, began onChristmas eve, 1845, of humbleorigins, hidden away, like theNativity at Bethlehem. Theimpressive Father d’Alzon, withfour friends, Henri Brown, fromLozére, Victor Cardenne, fromParis, Étienne Pernet, from Franc-Comté, and Hippolyte Saugrain,from Normandy went against thetides and currents of the day,persevering in their religiouscommitment until finally makingtheir first profession at Christmas1850 and authorized by thereticent Bishop Cart.

This very modest foundation gavebirth to a new family in the churcheventually spread to twenty-seven

An International opening

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countries and to the four corners ofthe planet today. It has over 150communities divided among eightprovinces or vice-provinces, inwhich the usual language ofcommunication marry a variety ofterritories and cultures from Africa,through America to Asia. A realmosaic of international humanity thatseeks to live in a unity with itsfounding spirit that is evangelical andcharacteristic, serving the localChurch and local populations, manyof whom are on road of development.Although born in Nîmes and Frenchwithin an academic structure, theCongregation of the Augustinians ofthe Assumption owes to the faith of itsfounder and his first religious, the graceof a spiritual and apostolic beginningthat constantly strives to move beyondthe limited structures of its birth. Thishas continued throughout its historynot without suffering or uncertainty,nor without rupture and a certainmetamorphoses.

During the lifetime of Father d’Alzonas a religious, between 1845 and 1880,there were 21 foundations orimplantations of which seven were justephemeral. He had only 73 religious tofulfil these works that includedcolleges, orphanages, parishes, housesof formation and alumnats (minorseminaries), distant missions, thepress, preaching and pilgrimages. Sothis unity of life and spirit was from itsorigins a multilateral fight, carried out inthe name of the Gospel and in responseto the call of the Church at that time.

The Assumption embodies a vigorousspirit of faith that it developed in theform of the love of Christ, the VirginMary and the Church, under a bannerentitled: Adveniat Regnum Tuum -A.R.T., the motto of the Assumption;an expression taken from the prayerof Jesus, the Our Father:

A triple Love

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24 Your Kingdom Come

The human and spiritual history of anexceptional man does not engender initself the survival of a social group. Toface the passages of time and to inspireit with authentic evangelical vigour, theAssumption must give of itself andreceive food for its religious journey.The first Constitutions drawn upbetween 1855 and 1865 by Fatherd’Alzon and the General Chapters,were entirely reformulated in 1923 atthe cost of agonizing sacrifices containthe formula of this founding spirit upto the present Rule of life, published in1983! Yet these texts will never be ableto completely express the problemsand the risks of thousands of faithfulactions experienced and fostered bythe Assumption yesterday, today andtomorrow for the of theKingdom. Religious life could easily bedulled in its contact with the everydaydifficulties inherent in the routines andpitfalls of daily life, if, as it evolved, itdid not constantly receive renewedand refreshing impulses from the

continuing calls and needs of theChurch and society. Father d’Alzonunderstood this well in his own timewhen he did not hesitate to sacrifice thecommunities at Rethel (1859) andClichy (1860) when he decided towithdraw the mission from Australia(1875).

Like love, the life spirit of a foundationis to be found in being faithful to itscreativity, as much in terms of itspossible continuity as in unforeseentragedies: the turmoil of World War Iravaged the Orient, decolonisationremoved the Assumption from Tunisiaand Algeria, the lack of vocations eatsaway the communities in the Northernhemisphere. The positive choice ofcalls and evangelical challenges by aCongregation eager to work forpeople made in the image of God in itsquest for unity, truth and solidarity,

A Rule of Life

A Faithful Creativity

present us with a vision and an idealthat leaves us in permanent tension.It is true that at the Assumptionseveral “ haveexperienced its preferences, itscharacter or its historic dreams:places like Turkey, the Balkans,Russia and even faraway Manchuria,but the Assumption cannot affordto be over nostalgic about its choiceof territories yesteryear. Itsapostolates led it to work withgenerous faith and takeunforeseen directions intounknown territories likeMadagascar in 1953, the Congo in1929, Latin America in 1890 andMexico in 1948, all this withoutprejudice to the virgin territoriesnewly encountered today andtomorrow: East Africa (Tanzaniaand Kenya), Ecuador (1996),South Korea (1991) and morerecently the Philippines,Togo andVietnam (2006); all with God'shelp, and under the patronage ofOur Lady of Salvation and withthe ardour of missionary pioneers.

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ut let us return to Fatherd’Alzon’s era. Thissomewhat flamboyant title,

, wasbestowed on him by Father AndréSève in the spiritual biography thathe wrote for the centenary of ourfounder's death in 1980. He did nottry to conceal the trials and sufferingsthat life inflicted on him, but he triedto give an account of everything thatEmmanuel was conscience of havingreceived: education, fortune,relations, without the false easinessof a bourgeois spirit that, accordingto him, have crippled the best ofcharacters. On the contrary, Fatherd’Alzon learned the art ofembellishing what nature gave himlike characteristics of the Cévenol.He knew how to graduallyevangelise the prominent features of

a character that that was jolly, free,humorous and ironic, and, similarlyhis authoritative impulsiveness,although he was never able tocompletely free himself from theseverity of his highland roots.

With a very lively Catholic faith anddrinking a water laced with anti-Protestantism, he became anUltramontanist of the Veuillot,always alert and often aggressive. Asoutherner in spirit, Father d’Alzonbreathed in the ardour and pugnaciousvivacity of this population ofSouthern France and was easily carriedaway by the fevered passions of politicsand religion. Nîmes was a city sadlyaccustomed to apoplectic passionthat made the region a bastion ofCatholic Legitimists (Ultra-Royalists)

In difficult Territory

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B

Interwoven with large pockets ofProtestantism, liberals, and laterrepublicans: as seen in 1789, 1830,1848, 1851 and even in 1870. Thecentury was fertile with the birth ofnew democracies which often led toconfrontation with inter-denominational warriors. Christianityat that time always sought to pave away that fell between the difficultextremes of the modernists and thedissatisfactory traits of thetraditionalists. It could not escape thebuffeting caused by these changes. Itwas this demanding but intellectuallyintolerant Catholicism, calledUltramontanism, into which thefounder tried to draw the clergy of hisdiocese. The bourgeoisie generallyclaimed to favour liberalism, supportedby an active minority from Protestantcircles that saw in the ideals of theRevolution a bastion against theinequalities of the . Thistendency contrasted with the massesof the working class who did not hide

their royalist support or their devotionto demonstrative Catholicism:processions, illuminations, publicdisplays of Marian and Eucharisticworship that was triumphalist and anti-Protestant.The difficult periods of politicalturmoil that struck the country in1815, 1830 and 1848, shattered thefragile consensus establishedbetween the communities. Despitehis authoritative tone and hiscomplete ease with principles,Father d’Alzon is one of those who,in practical terms, prepared thepeople for unavoidable compromises(especially in elections). As VicarGeneral between 1839 and 1878 hemixed with all the local eminentpeople (municipal, prefecture,scholars), overlooking partisandifferences when the questionswere not a matter of doctrine.Despite his background he was notafraid of all the recent technicalinnovations (the railroad, sewing

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machine, telephone) that offerednew possibilities to people’s lives.Over many years, despitenumerous responsibilities and amultitude of enterprises, his energynever flagged.

He refused to let himself be giventhe mitre or the crosier that hisfriends tried to offer him atMende, Aire-sur-Adour and evenat Nîmes. Down to earth, he wasnot interested in an ecclesiasticalcareer, but accepted responsibilityfor the pastoral supervision of hisdiocese and the dynamism of newworks that, had spring to life inParis and Lyons (the Propagation ofthe Faith, Conferences of SaintVincent de Paul, the Work of SaintFrançois de Sales, Christian WorkerMovements), he wanted to beembellished with a Nîmois spirit.His frequent journeys to Paris weremotivated by his pastoral concerns:

Against this backdrop, his lifedeveloped into a never endingseries of journeys constantly takenfor new reasons and in responseto new needs: the struggle for thefreedom of teaching, socialtransformation, foreign missions,journalism. Father d’Alzonhimself was always beingstimulated by the new currentsand needs produced by a societythat was constantly undergoingtransformation. He sought waysfor the ecclesiastical body tomost benefit from all this or,when the case arose, to protectit.

Serving the Kingdom

the animation and launching of newworks, preaching, links with theReligious of the Assumption.

A lready in 1868, during aGeneral Chapter, Fatherd’Alzon anticipated the

importance of various changes andevolution in his apostolicobjectives: to serve the commongood of the masses rather than toconcentrate his efforts only on theelite. Suffering from health problemsin 1854, he reassessed his apostolicwork in the light of a more interior,even mystical, reflection attested toin the maturity of his writings (TheDirectory 1859, Letters to theNovice Masters 1868, Circulars andMeditations after 1870), which addedan important dimension to his naturaldynamism which might appear tosome only as the work of an activist.

Under the influence of variousreligious, especially Father ÉtiennePernet and the Parisian Religious(François Picard, Vincent de Paul Bailly,and Hippolyte Saugrain), it still seemedcourageous to him to reorient some ofhis pastoral priorities for the massesand for people in terms of pilgrimages,the popular press, minor seminariesand apostolic schools for the poor(which the Assumption call“alumnats”), conferences and workermovements that flourished after 1871.He was involved in animatingpopular movements, giving freereign to his younger religious whohad experienced military prisoncamps after the defeat in 1870. Theexcesses of the Paris Commune in1871 certainly did not moderate hisown political preferences for the

Pastoral Priorities

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restoration of the monarchy, butstimulated his desire to respond tothe more social demands that aroseat this time. This generation of hisdisciples, while not abandoning thefield of education, knew how to beinnovative in this sense and assist himin this larger impulse.

In Paris, Father Picard mobilisedthe clergy and interested crowdsof people in the Association ofNotre Dame de Salut, founded in1872 (with campaigns of publicprayer). Father Vincent de Paul Baillytook the small bulletin published forpilgrims in 1873, begun at La Salette,and transformed it in 1877 into anattractive domestic and amusingmagazine in which the caricaturesplayed an eye-catching role in thepolitical debates at that time. A shorttime later (1880) La Croix appeared– this Review very quickly became a

daily newspaper (1883). In Paris,Father Pernet, who formedFraternities of lay people connectedwith the Little Sisters of theAssumption (who looked after thesick at home unpaid), also enteredthe field of social Catholicism.From Nîmes, Father d’Alzon whoseage was beginning to take its toll,supervised this ferment of ideas andactions that inspired in him strongsympathy and criticism, but in whichhe recognized the generous vigourof his own youth and the lively faithof his spirit. He never questioned thestrength of the Assumption, which,despite its small numbers of religious,launched out on many more frontsthan it had members!

New young people were beingformed in the minor seminary-alumnats whose upkeep wasentrusted to Providence. Manygenerous donors, who formed theassociation of Notre Dame des

Great Figuresbubbling with ideas

The Relief

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Vocations, financed the apostolicactivities of the Assumption. Withouttheir contribution many of theseimpulses would not have beenrealised. They would have been leftas paper projects locked away inconvent drawers! Father d’Alzonknew this well, throughout his lifehe underwent according to him

inwhich he generously used up hisdomestic heritage on innumerableworks whose profits would never

be listed on the Stock market wherethe bourgeois spirit that disgustedhim triumphed. Prince or Knight ofthe Kingdom, he did not depend on thegoods or generosity of this worldexcept in the manner of the gospel,which meant subjugating them freelyto the worthy aims of his convictionsand concerns. On his death bed, hereplied to his doctor, who comparedhis depleted health to that of a worn-out capital, that he could now leaveafter having damaged many others!

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The death of Father d’Alzon isreminiscent of that of ourPatriarch from the Occident.

One knows that Augustine spentall his life in Africa in the setting ofthe Roman Empire which headmired for its organisation,administration and culture.Before the increasing invasions of

forces including theVandals undermined thestructures of this empire andaffected the development ofChristianity, he died in 430 facinga profound decline in the future.

More than fourteen centuries later,Father d’Alzon for his part faced asimilar experience. In France, theanticlerical republican forces, untilthen held back, now filled the

State and heralded dark days withscholastic programmes focused onsecularism, especially for the youngcommunities who had no legalprotection or guarantee.The college in Nîmes suffered theeffects of the Ferry decrees thatexpelled from teaching those whoavoided any form of governmentauthority. Father d’Alzon knew hiscommunities were threatened andalready prepared for their next exile.Yet it was in great serenity that the

took hisleave of this earth, after having takenthe time to prepare himself spirituallyfor eternity and had the sense tonominate someone to succeed himas head of his religious families;another great witness of faith andcharacter, Father François Picard.

The Ultimate Test

Your Kingdom Come

On Sunday 21 November 1880,the feast of Mary's Presentation,Father Emmanuel d’Alzon left tohis followers the strength of aspirit that no tomb could holddown and no power on this earthcould break.

Even if history slates men inwhatever way they chose, areligious force born from theGospel finds the strength and

ability to adapt and renew itself astime passes and events unfold,with the freedom to invent newand sometimes unexpected paths.

The Church validated the spirituallegacy of Father Emmanueld’Alzon in December 1991,awarding him the title ofVenerable, the first stage in afuture beatification hoped andprayed for.

His Last Breath

Your Kingdom Come

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Your Kingdom Come

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« Emmanuel d’Alzon founder of the Augustinians of the Assumption and Oblates of the Assumption » is part ofthe collection « Your Kingdom Come ».Editorial Committee : Dominique Lang, Noël Le Bousse, Marie-Bernard Kientz, Claude Maréchal, HervéStéphan,Benoit Gschwind, Assumptionists. Translation: Tom O’Brien a.a.aTexts : Jean-Paul Périer-Muzet, Assumptionist, archivist.Booklet published in collaboration with Prions en Église. Design: Maguy Figureau, Cathy Croizet.

May the Assumption seek before all else the Kingdom of God, and may it receivean increase in brothers, & sisters, unity, joy and courage to serve: let us pray to

the Lord.

Response: Lord, may your Kingdom Come!May the Assumption be faithful to the spirit of its founder

in its love for Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Church,let us pray to the Lord.

May the Assumption, faithful to the mission of Christ, like him be present to the world and protected from all evil: let us pray to the Lord.

May the Assumption love and serve the Church in the example of Christ who loved her and died for her: let us pray to the Lord.

May the Assumption, with hope and in prayer,welcome that day when the Church will recognise

the sanctity of Father Emmanuel d’Alzon: let us pray to the Lord.

“The spirit of the Assumptioncan be summed up in these few words:

the love of Our Lord,of the Holy Virgin, his Mother,and the Church, his spouse.In my position as a religious,

I am more especiallythe servant of Jesus Christ,

and all the affections of my heart,the whole power of my being,must be directed towards him.”

Father Emmanuel d’Alzon1810-1880