Thirty Years Later, We Still Carry His Memory

Cleber LOPES POMBAL, OMI
Postulator General

On December 3, 2025, the Oblate Family around the world remembers the thirtieth anniversary of the canonization of Saint Eugene de Mazenod. We look back on that day because his life, his mission, and his way of serving continue to shape who we are, where we work, and why we accompany the poor with commitment.

A Memory That Still Gives Life

Tomorrow we gather as a charismatic family to give thanks for an anniversary that touches our history and our daily lives. On December 3, 1995, Saint John Paul II canonized our Founder, Saint Eugene de Mazenod. That day became part of the Oblate memory, not as something fixed in the past, but as an impulse that continues to sustain our communities and our mission.

While reviewing the archives of the Postulation, the words of Fr. James M. FitzPatrick, OMI, resurfaced. He walked with the canonization process, and his testimony still sounds fresh, almost as if he were speaking today. He wrote:

“The canonization of Eugene de Mazenod is an event for our time. It is not only history, much less a dead body. It rests on the living and present memory of this man of the Church, a memory kept especially alive by this religious family. His canonization crowns that memory, confirms it, and celebrates it. As heirs to Mazenod’s boldness, we do not only share his legacy, we are his memory, because he is where we are, alive in our lives.”

We Are His Memory Today

His phrase continues to echo: we are his memory. Not because we look backward, but because his boldness lives in what we do now, in the places we serve, and in the people we accompany. And as we approach the 200th anniversary of the approval of our Constitutions and Rules, the Preface confronts us again with its challenging question:

“And how should men who want to follow in the footsteps of their divine Master Jesus Christ conduct themselves if they, in their turn, are to win back the many souls who have thrown off his yoke? They must strive to be saints.”

Holiness in Real Humanity

Working seriously to become saints does not arise from moral fantasy. It grows out of real humanity, with everything that comes with it. On this point, Fr. FitzPatrick wrote with striking clarity:

“The saints were not born saints. Like us, they were human, with their weaknesses, quirks, obsessions, strong desires, and impulses, like you and me. Add to this the challenges they faced because of the circumstances of their lives, dramatic circumstances known to all. By facing these challenges and trusting in the grace of God, they became saints.”

An Invitation That Still Stands

Thirty years later, the canonization is not a date on a calendar. It is an invitation to live with the same trust. To let the memory of Saint Eugene continue to move us, as it moved so many before us, toward a stronger love for Christ and for the poor.

Because yes, it is still true: he is wherever we are.