Ozanam – A Man Ahead of His TImes

“We belong to times when the image of Ozanam has met with renewed fame after his beatification during the WYD’s of 1997 in Paris. ” Thus writes Charles Mercier in the current edition of Ozanews.At least concerning France, this beatification has enabled the public in general to rediscover this figure, thanks to numerous publications that year and generally positive paper articles.

For instance, the Le journal du dimanche, an important non religious French paper, wrote an article on five columns about Ozanam, on the eve of the beginning of the WYD’s under the hit title: « Ozanam, the blessed who spoke like Marx». The shortcut is flattering, in the eyes of the journalist. This beatification is in his view a pleasant surprise and comes upstream from the conservative, even reactionary image that sticks to the Church in the mind of many Frenchmen: « This committed intellectual, a pioneer of social Catholicism and a friend of Lacordaire, really hasn’t got a neutral profile.

Twenty years ahead of Marx, he writes these lines the writer of the Capital (…). Goodness! If it is true that all sanctifications are political acts, this one is quite a testimony in favour of the progressive wing of the Church». So the 1997 beatification was welcomed by the progressives. It was understood as a will by the Catholic Church to show its interest in social matters. An interesting fact is that the beatification is also welcomed by more traditional catholic movements. Except for the extreme right wing traditionalist paper Présent mentioning that Ozanam was once dubious about freedom of teaching, no discordant voice was heard. It seems to me that Ozanam is a Reconciliation figure on which French Catholics can all join up. The Traditionnal » catholics are sensitive to his undefatigable obedience to the pope. They mostly look at the private man, a model of a husband and a father.
More progressive Catholics are receptive to his social and political boldness, his rallying democracy without any afterthoughts.

It also seems to me that for numbers of youths, the image of Ozanam appeared as a model, an answer to questions they had in mind, an exciting figure to follow. It is the man who reconciles the opposites and whose life follows a crest path: he managed a brilliant career, and still remained caring for the poor, he has a passion for ideas but stays on his feet, claiming his being a Christian as well as an academic, at a time when the French university is known for its anti clerical views. Following the beatification, , the Vincentian authorities of Paris saw a rather great flow of youngsters willing to live Ozanam’s ideal of service in the Society of Saint-Vincent de Paul. Thus, since 1997, six young Vincentians’ conferences have been created, which is spectacular compared to the previous years. Franck Provence, in charge of young Parisians during that period, speaks about a « surge » in comparison with the beginning of the nineteen nineties. Ozanam, an icon of reconciliation, is a figure that speaks to our times. The National Council of France did not fail to notice and has adapted its internal communication. Its new logo is “Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, founded by Frederic Ozanam”.

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