Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/217

 OBLATES

187

OBLATES

Ceylon possesses votive churches to St. Anne at Co- lombo and St. Anthony at Kochchikadai, and the Canadian West that of St. .\nne at Lake St. Anne, which is largely frequented by Indians and half-breeds, as well as white people.

IX. FOUND.^TION OF ReLIGIODS COMMUNITIES.—

Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (Lon- geuil, 1843); Grey Nuns of Ottawa, separated from the Montreal community by Bishop Guigues in 1845; Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart and Mary Immacu- late founded at St. Boniface by Archbishop Langevin (1905); and a community of over 300 native sisters, and one of teaching brothers of St. Joseph in Ceylon.

X. Apostolate of the Press. — (a) Periodicals on the Work of the Congregation: "Missions des O. M. I.", printed at Rome for the congregation only; "Pe- tites annales des O. M. I." (Liege); " Maria Immacu- lata" (German), Hiinfeld, New Brunswick; the "Mi.s- sionary Record", started in 1891, was discontinued in 1903. (b) General Newspapers, etc.: the "North West Review" (Winnipeg), "Western Catholic" (Vancou- ver), "Patriote de I'Ouest" (Duck Lake, Saska- toon), "Ami du Foyer" (St. Boniface), "Die West Canada" (German), "Gazeta Katolika" (Polish), and a recently established Ruthenian journal (Win- nipeg), "Kitchiwa Match Sacred Heart Review in Cris" (Sacred Heart P. O. Alta), "Cennad Llyde- wig. Messenger of the Catholic Church in Welsh-Eng- lish" (Llaanrwst, North Wales); "Ceylon Catholic Messenger", separate editions in English and Cin- galese, and the "Jaffna Guardian" in English-Tamil; Parochial Bulletins at St. Joseph's, Lowell, Mattawa (Ontario), and St. Peter's, Montreal.

In connexion with the table given on page 186, the following points may be mentioned: (1) the "houses" are parochial establishments or missionary centres, not mission posts; (2) the table is calculated according to the provinces or vicariates of the congregation, which are not always coterminous with ecclesiastical divisions ; (3) the figures given for France represent the state of affairs before 1902. Since that date a large number of religious remain in France, though isolated. Several establishments have been transferred to Bel- gium, Italy, and Spain; (4) scholastics, novices, and juniorists are not included.

I. FouND.vTiON AND DEVELOPMENT. — Rambert, Vie dc Mgr de Mazenod (2 vols., Tours, 1883); Ricard. Mgr de Mazenod (Paris, 1892) ; Cooke. Sketches o/ the Life of Mgr de Mazenod and Oblate Missionary Labours (2 vols., London, 1879): Baffie. Bishop de Mazenod: His Inner Life and Virtues, tr. Dawson (London, 1909); Missions des O. M. I. Petites annales; Missionary Record; Missions Catholiques (7 vols.. Paris), passim.

IL .America and Canada. — Morice, Hist, of the Cath. Church in Western Canada (2 vols., Toronto, 1910); Tach£, A Page of the Hist, of the Schools in Manitoba (St. Boniface, 1893) ; Idem, Vingt annees USiS-es) de Missions dans le N. 0. de l'Am6rique (Mon- treal, 1866); Morice, Au Pays de fours noir (Paris, 1897); Des- rosiers and Fournet, La Race Franfatse en Amerique (Montreal. 1910), vii; Parizot. Reminiscences of a Texas Missionary (San Antonio, 1899).

See also the following articles: Basctoland; Blood Indians; British Columbia; Colombo; J.ipfna; Missions, Catholic Indian, of Canada; Canada.

F. Blanchin.

Oblates of St. Ambrose and St. Charles. See

Ambrosians.

Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales, a congre- gation nf iiri.'sts f.iun.li'il (.riniiiiilly l>y Saint Francis do S:ilcs at the icquist of S:iint J:imMicChantal. The establishment at Thonon wasapreparatorysteptoward carrying out his design, the accomplishment of which was prevented by his death. With Saint Jane Frances de Chantal's encouragement and assistance, Raymond Bonal of Adge, in France, carried out his plan but this congregation died out at the beginning of the eight- eenth century. Two hundred years later it was re- vived by Ven. Mother Marie de Sales Chappuis, who died in the odour of sanctity, 7 October, 1875, and Abbe Louis .■\lexandpr Alphonse Brisson, a professor in theScminarvof Troyes. In 1S69 Father Bris.son began Saint Bernard's College, near Troyes. In September,

Pere Brisson

Founder and First General of the Oblato

of St. Francis de Sales

1871, Father Gilbert (d. 10 November, 1909) joined him, and Mgr Ravinet, Bishop of Troyes, received them and four companions into the novitiate. The Holy See approved temporarily their constitutions, 21 Dec, 1875. The first vows were made 27 Au- gust, 1876. The definitive approbation of their con- stitution was given on 8 December, 1897. The members of the institute are of two ranks, clerics and lay-brothers. The postulate lasts from six to nine months; the novitiate from one year to eighteen months. For the first three years the vows are an- nual, after that perpetual. The in- stitute is governed by a superior gen- eral elected for life, and five counsel- lors general elected at each general chapter, which takes place every ten years. The congregation grad- ually developed in France. It num- bered seven col- leges and five ot her educational houses when the Govern- ment closed them all, 31 July, 1903. The founder re- tired to Plancy where he died 2

February, 1908. The mother-house was transferred to Rome, and the congregation divided into three provinces, Latin, German, and English. The first com- prises France, Belgium, Italy, Greece, and South Amer- ica; the second Austria, the German Empire and the southern half of its South-west African colony; the third, England, United States, and the north-western part of Cape Colony. Each province is administered by a provincial, appointed by the superior general and his council tor ten years. He is assisted by three counsellors elected at each provincial chapter, which meets every ten years, at an interval of five years be- tween the regular general chapters.

The Latin province has a scholasticate at Albano. In 1909 the church of Sts. Celsus and Julian in Rome was given to the Oblates. The novitiate for the Latin and German provinces is in Giove (LTmbria). The Ecole Commerciale Stc Croix, in Naxos (Greece), has about fifty pupils, and the College St. Paul at Pirseua (Athens) about two hundred. Four Fathers, sta- tioned in Montevideo (Uruguay) are occupied with mission work. They have a flouri.shing Young Men's Association. In Brazil, three Fathers luive the dis- trict of Don Pedrito do Sul (11,000 square niilcis with a Catholic population of 20.000). The headr|uartrrs of the Uruguay-Brazil mission is at Montevidro, Uruguay. One Oblate is stationed in Ecuador, where before the Revolution of 1897 the congregation had charge of the diocesan seminary of Riobamba, several colleges, and parishes. In 1909 a school for the congregation was opened at Dampicourt, Belgium. The German province has a preparatory school of about forty students in Schmieding (Upper Austria). They have charge of St. Anne's (French) church in Vienna, al.so the church of Our Lady of Dolours in Kaa.sgraben, Vienna, which is served by six Oblates. At Artstetten, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand gave them charge of the parish (1907) and assisted them to build a school. With the consent of the German Governmeiit.'^ardiniil Fischer gave them the church of Marienburg in 1910. Several Fathers