Sept. 7 Frederic Ozanam

Blessed Frederic Ozanam (1813-53: age 40)

Sept. 7 or 9

            Serving the poor taught Frederic something about God that he could not have learned otherwise. Since his sense of the dignity of each poor person was so close to the thinking of Saint Francis of Assisi, it is appropriate to include him among Franciscan saints, even though he is considered within the Vincentian family. Ozanam was a French literary scholar, lawyer, journalist, and equal rights advocate. He was recognized as a skilled writer, orator, thinker, social activist, and model of faith oriented toward outward action.

            Born Antoine-Frederic to Jean and Marie Ozanam in Milan, Italy, he was the fifth of 14 children, only three of whom reached adulthood. The family returned to Lyons, France, when Frederic was still quite young.  Reading and prayer did not seem to help when he began having doubts about his faith during his teenage years. He took long walks with Father Noirot of Lyons College, discussing and clarifying matters. His father wanted him to become a lawyer. So in 1831 Frederic began to study law at the University of the Sorbonne in Paris, earning his degree and then teaching at the University of Lyons. His passion was for literature, however, and he actually wrote an excellent book entitled Franciscan Poets of the Thirteenth Century. He did go on to receive a doctorate degree in literature. The philosophical literature and atmosphere of that era were very anti-Catholic, a hostility he encountered at the Sorbonne.

            In order to counter unjust tirades and encourage open debate on campus on topics relating to faith and society, as a student, Frédéric helped establish a discussion club, called a “Society of Good Studies.” When challenged to do more than just talk, Frédéric formed a small charitable group to meet the needs of the impoverished communities around Paris, providing food, clothing, and firewood to the poor. It also sought to nurture the spiritual life of its members. The group quickly grew and spread across the French countryside. Within two years in 1833, a formal rule was established for the organization. The charity served anyone in need, whether they were Catholic or not, a position which was uncommon at that time. It was officially named the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a worldwide organization that continues to this day.

            On June 23, 1841, he married Amelie Soulacroix and returned to the Sorbonne to teach literature. In 1846, Frédéric and his family spent a year in Italy in an attempt to restore his poor health due to consumption.  After the revolution of 1848, the French government asked Frédéric and his coworkers to supervise government aid to the poor. 

            Frédéric then started a newspaper, The New Era, dedicated to securing justice for the poor and the working classes. In his writing, Frédéric referred to the poor man as “the nation’s priest,” and said that the hunger and sweat of the poor formed a sacrifice that could redeem the people’s humanity. In his writings, he dwelt upon important contributions of historical Christianity, and maintained especially that the Catholic Church had been the most potent factor in establishing Western civilization.  

In 1852, poor health again forced Frédéric to return to Italy with his wife and daughter Marie. On his return to France, he died from tuberculosis in Marseilles on September 8, 1853. In his sermon at Frédéric’s funeral, Fr. Lacordaire described his friend as “one of those privileged creatures who came directly from the hand of God in whom God joins tenderness to genius in order to enkindle the world.” Ozanam was buried in the crypt of the church of St. Joseph des Carmes at the Institut Catholique in Paris.

            He was beatified in 1997 by Pope John Paul II during World Youth Day. Because Sept. 8^th is the feast of the Nativity of the BVM, he is alternately honored on either the 7^th or the 9^th by Vincentians and Franciscans. In the sermon during the Mass, the Pope said that Ozanam "is recognized as a precursor of the Catholic Church's social doctrine, whose cultural and religious origins he wanted to know and on which he wrote books which are still in great demand."

QUOTE: “Social welfare reform is to be learned… not in books nor from a public platform but in climbing the stairs to a poor man’s garret, sitting by his bedside, feeling the same cold that pierces him, sharing the secrets of his lonely heart and troubled mind.” –Frédéric Ozanam