Blessed Frederic Ozanam
By Frank Scarano
Wow! What an inspirational experience this
has been. I am in awe of the
determination, great intellect and amazing faith of Blessed Frederic
Ozanam. He has shown us how an
‘ordinary’ person can accomplish extraordinary things when the talents given by
God are put to use in service of others.
Frederic Ozanam was born
in French-occupied Milan on April 23, 1813, to Marie and Jean-Antoine
Ozanam. When Frederic was still a
toddler the family moved back to Lyon, France where Marie and Jean-Antoine had
started their family several years earlier. Frederic considered his roots to be in Lyon and throughout
his life returned there to live on several occasions. Jean-Antoine and Marie established a sound, faith-filled
home for their children amid personal tragedy and the societal turmoil of the
time. Frederic was the fifth of
fourteen children but only one of three to reach adulthood. His older brother Alphonse became a
priest and youngest brother, Charles, became a physician. Most of Frederic’s ten sisters and a
brother died very young or were stillborn. Frederic also struggled with poor health and almost died at
the age of six from typhoid fever.
Interestingly, his survival is attributed to an intervention of St.
Jean-Francois Regis, who was a great servant of the poor in France 200 years
earlier. The eldest sister,
Elisabeth, was like a second mother to Frederic and when she died at the age of
nineteen it was devastating to young Frederic who was about seven at the
time.
After Elisabeth’s death,
Frederic was deeply troubled and became angry, stubborn and disobedient. In an effort to correct such behavior
problems he began study at the Royal College of Lyon in 1822 where he was found
to be a gifted student and excelled in his studies. In 1827, at the age of fifteen, his studies in rhetoric
caused a test to his faith. This
question of faith was amplified by a growing community of disbelief fueled by
natural disaster and revolt in Lyon.
During this time Frederic prayed to God to see the truth. He promised that if he was enlightened
with the truth that he would spend the rest of his life defending it. Over the next year his conversations,
study and mentorship under Father Noirot helped Frederic to regain his
faith. Shortly thereafter, he
began writing in defense of Christianity in well-established venues and
important writers and philosophers of the time noticed his work and recognized
his talent.
He earned his first
bachelors degree in humanities in Lyon but his father wanted him to study law,
so he was off to the Sorbonne in Paris.
In the early 1830s Paris was in turmoil and Frederic was struggling with
loneliness amid the skepticism and poverty of the big city. Fortunately, Frederic reconnected with
an acquaintance he had met in Lyon, Andre Ampere, a scientist and devout
Catholic. Ampere was impressed with
Frederic and invited him to stay with him while Frederic continued his
studies. Frederic and Ampere had
many philosophical discussions that helped Frederic strengthen his Christian
faith in a climate where it was fashionable to reject and mock such beliefs.
With renewed and
infectious enthusiasm Frederic gathered a circle of like-minded students to
form a Catholic discussion group where they could challenge the opponents of
the faith. With the leadership of
Catholic layperson, Emmanuel Bailly, this was the first ‘Conference of
History.’ The group was open to
all and many lively discussions occurred where the relevance of the Church in
France at the time was argued.
Because poverty was rampant in Paris the group was challenged with the
question, “What does the Church do to help the poor?” Spurred forward by this question, Frederic and his friends
resolved to form the first ‘Conference of Charity.’
Under the guidance of Mr.
Bailly, the first meeting of the ‘Conference of Charity’ was held on April 23,
1833, Frederic’s 20th birthday. The original group, including Frederic Ozanam and five other
students ranging in age from 19-23, dedicated themselves to the poor following
the example of St. Vincent de Paul.
The students contacted Sister Rosalie Rendu for the addresses of
families in need and began by bringing food, fuel for their fires and above
all, friendship. Sr. Rendu was a
great influence for the students and following the example of St. Vincent de
Paul, she taught them how to serve the poor with compassion and respect for
human dignity. The group was
mocked. Their adversaries taunted
them with questions that would instill doubt for their cause. The problem of poverty was so
overwhelming, how could these six young men expect to make a difference? The membership in the group slowly
began to grow and by the end of 1834 there were 100 members. As members graduated and moved to other
cities other conferences were formed across France and beyond. Today, almost 180 years later, the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul operates in 130 countries and has over 950,000
members. In the United States
alone the members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society help over 12 million
people each year.
All of this was started
when Blessed Frederic Ozanam was only twenty! As he continued his life he went on to earn several advanced
degrees, cared for his aging parents, married and had a daughter. As I read more about his life I was
continually amazed by his determination and faith. He had such a passion that he was driven to learn and share
his knowledge through teaching and writing prolifically until his death. He suffered with severe bouts of poor
health throughout his life and died in 1853 at the age of 40. Frederic was a deeply caring man who
loved his parents and family. He
was a very caring and devoted son.
After his parents died and he was married, he loved his wife, daughter
and in-laws to the same degree. He
was married to Amelie Soulacroix on June 23, 1841. In one account of his life it was stated that on the 23rd
of every month for the next 12 years (until his death) Amelie would receive a
bouquet of flowers from Frederic.
How romantic is that! It is
just one small example of how devoted and passionate he was.
His immense and constant
feeling of thankfulness for all experiences, good and bad, also astonished
me. What an inspiration for us to
be reminded to thank God for everything as each experience makes us who we are
and allows us to praise God and do good for others. Although Frederic’s father was a physician, there were many
financial struggles before he became a doctor and he did not make a lot of
money because he treated most of his patients for free. There was one quote Frederic wrote to a
friend in 1836 that was particularly enlightening for me…
“I feel like giving thanks to God for having
been born in a social position which was on the borderline between financial
difficulty and being comfortably off.
Such a position accustoms one to hardship without leaving one totally
ignorant of enjoyment. In that
position one cannot go to sleep at night satisfied in one’s desires but one is
not preoccupied either by the constant call of need.” (Letter to Francois Lallier, November 5th
1836. SSVP Global, 2009)
I was also very moved by
a passage Blessed Frederic Ozanam wrote on his fortieth birthday, as he was ill
and in pain, only months from death.
“As at the beginning of
the Canticle of Ezechias: I don’t know if God will permit me to carry it
through to the end. I know that today I have reached my fortieth year, more
than a half of a life. I know that I have a young and beloved wife and
enchanting child, excellent brother, a second mother, many friends, an
honourable career; my research has in fact reached the point that it could
serve as the basis of a book of which I have dreamed for a long time. Yet here
I am struck down by a serious and persistent illness that is all the more
dangerous for the fact that it is probably underlain by total exhaustion.
Must I then leave all
these goods that you yourself have given me, my God? Lord will you not be
content with only a part of the sacrifice? Which of my disordered affections
must I sacrifice to you? Would you not accept the holocaust of my literary
pride, of my academic ambitions, or even of my research plans in which perhaps
was contained more pride than zeal for the truth? If I sold part of my books in
order to give the proceeds to the poor, and limited myself to carrying out the
duties of my state of life, or if I devoted the rest of my life to visiting the
poor, and educating trainees and soldiers, would you be satisfied Lord? Would
you allow me the pleasure of living through to old age with my wife and
completing the education of my child? Perhaps, my God, that is not your will at
all. You don’t accept these self-interested offerings; you reject my holocausts
and sacrifices!
It is written at the
beginning of the book that I must do your will and I have said: here I am,
Lord. I am answering your call and I have no reason to complain. You have given
me forty years of life. If I put before you the years I have lived with
bitterness, I see it is because of the sins with which I ruined them. Yet when
I consider the graces with which you have enriched them, I again go over these
years in your presence with gratitude, Lord.
When you chain me to my
bed for what is left of my life there will not be enough time to thank you for
all the time I have lived. Ah! If these pages are the last that I am writing,
may they be a hymn to your goodness.”
(Pisa, April 23, 1853,
his 40th birthday. SSVP
Global, 2009)
Blessed Frederic Ozanam
died a few months later on September 8, 1853, with his family at his side. He calmly and serenely requested his
last sacrament a few days before his death. Fr. Alphonse urged his brother to offer his soul to God
‘confidently, trustingly and without fear.’ To which Frederic said, “Why should I fear Him? I love Him so much!”
Although some have
described him as removed from the common people, it seems to me that Blessed
Frederic Ozanam was an ‘ordinary’ son, brother, father, husband and teacher,
but what made him extraordinary was his amazing faith that allowed him to use
the great talents given by God to do good for others. Let us move forward, inspired by Blessed Frederic Ozanam, to
always give thanks to God for every experience and let us work tirelessly, like
him, to help others in God’s name.
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