- Le Calvaire (1833-1836); Aix (1836-1837)
- Ajaccio (1837-1843)
- Marseilles, l’Osier, Parménie (1843-1847)
- Treasurer at Nancy (1847-1849)
- Ceylon (1849-1880)
Born: Rouen (Seine-Maritime), France, July 2, 1802.
Taking of the habit: Billens, Switzerland, December 28, 1830.
Ordination to the priesthood: Fribourg, February 26, 1831.
Oblation: Billens, January 6, 1832. (No. 48)
Died: Jaffna, September 19, 1880.
Frédéric, Pompée Mouchel was born in Rouen, July 2, 1802. He was hardly two years old when he father died a few days after having been appointed administrator of the estate of the Duke of Montmorency in Picardie.
At the age of five, he left his mother and his sister to go live with his grandparents in Paris, to attend the schools to which the Duke of Montmorency was sending him. His years of elementary education were spent at the school of Mr. Raymond. He took his secondary school at the Jesuit school of Saint-Acheul. He then spent a few months as a novice in the Jesuit novitiate of Montrouge. He left for health reasons and went on to study philosophy and theology at the seminary of Saint-Sulpice. It would seem that, during his seminary years, he taught literature at the college of Abbé Poiloup, the college where Bishop de Mazenod would send his nephew, Eugène de Boisgelin, in 1837-1838.
While the July 1830 revolution was going on, Frédéric was sent to the major seminary in Fribourg with the seminarians from Paris. It was there that he encountered some Oblate scholastic brothers who stayed there for a short time in September-October before proceeding to Billens. Abbé Mouchel followed them to Billens. He began his novitiate on December 28, 1830, and was ordained to the priesthood at Fribourg by Bishop Yenni on February 26, 1831. March 19 of that same year, Father de Mazenod wrote to Father Mille, the superior at Billens: “I want you please to let Father Mouchel know how I share in his happiness and of my satisfaction on learning from you of his edifying conduct in the community.” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1831-1836, Oblate Writings I, vol. 8, no. 387. p.17)
After his novitiate, Father Mouchel, a shy and often bewildered individual, hesitated. Father Mille sought advice from the Founder who saw in this novice a solid vocation. He made his oblation January 6, 1832.
Le Calvaire (1833-1836); Aix (1836-1837)
At the beginning of 1833, Father Mouchel received his obedience for the Oblate community of Le Calvaire where he heard confessions in the church and in various communities. He sometimes helped out the chaplains at Notre-Dame de la Garde.
In September 1836, the Superior General sent him to Aix to replace Father Martin who was ill. These are the words he wrote in introducing him to Father Courtès: “In the first place I commend this Father to you, he is, I think a dutiful man. He enjoys here the confidence of many men who go to him for confession; he also confesses a large number of women; in this way, although he is no preacher, he made himself very useful in this poor house of Calvaire where there is so much to do and so few men able to function.” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1831-1836, Oblate Writings I, vol. 8, no. 582. p.245)
At Aix, he was chaplain at the major hospital and of the hospice for mental patients. At the end of 1836, Bishop de Mazenod planned to send him to the major seminary at Ajaccio. In the February 24, 1837 entry in his Diary, he wrote: “A letter from Father Mouchel. He tells me in the most moving terms his frame of mind which is that of doing everything in his power to fulfil his duty and to set my concerns at ease, giving me a free hand as to the choice of the kind of work he might do as also of the places I might want him to live according to the needs of the Congregation as they are known to me. The principles that he proclaims and that he has chosen to share with me to console me are of the kind that one should expect in a man as virtuous and as good a religious as he is. I am very well disposed toward him for the tact he had for communicating these things to me at a time when he could think that I might be perplexed by the complications of personnel assignments, etc…”
Father Courtès was keen on retaining Father Mouchel in his community. “He would be too much of a loss to me; regular and endowed with common sense, he fits well into a community with members of a very young mindset.” Father Mouchel received a personal invitation to attend the General Chapter celebrated August 4 to August 8 of 1837 and, at the beginning of the following October, he received his obedience to the major seminary of Ajaccio. Father Magnan was the one initially designated for this obedience; Father Courtès at Aix complained about him constantly. However, when he learn about this obedience, he protested that Father Magnan was the one in his community who did the most work and was the most useful to the community. Consequently, he suggested that Father Mouchel be sent instead: “An excellent man from every aspect. He cannot even bring himself to the point of leading evening prayer just once… He does not know the Provencal language and hears the confessions of no one in our church… This man who is doing little or nothing at Aix would be very useful in a place like Ajaccio because of his good conduct, the regularity of his life, his theological knowledge, etc.” (Mazenod Diary, October 9, 1837)
Ajaccio (1837-1843)
In an October 23, 1836 letter to Bishop Casanelli d’Istria, Bishop de Mazenod had already told him of Father Mouchel’s coming. He said that he was “a delightful individual, full of good sense and piety, a most likeable fellow with an impeccable conduct who can turn his hand to anything, who could not only assist the superior in his demanding administrative duties, but who, in addition, because of his specialized studies in Hebrew and his knowledge of the Scriptures, could not only teach Scripture, but, if need be, teach Hebrew to those students who might be inclined to study that language.”
Father Mouchel arrived in Corsica in October 1837. As of the 27th, Father Guibert wrote that Father Mouchel would act as treasurer and twice a week would have a class on ceremonies; he was not prepared to teach Sacred Scripture. November 19, he praised the dedication of the treasurer: “Here”, he said, “there is no market nor any stores. The poor treasurer is compelled to go out into the street to stop peasants passing by loaded with goods. It takes him three months of work to lay in a year of provisions; or rather, he has to live from day to day.” February 2, 1838, writing to the Founder, the superior drew the following picture of Father Mouchel: “Let me tell you of all the solace that good Father Mouchel brings us. His is a personality of angelic gentleness, always even-tempered, candid, upright, likeable, regular and edifying. I am delighted with him in his role of treasurer. He is very attentive to detail and no detail escapes his notice. That is a thing of great importance in an institution as large as ours. This fine priest has found his place. He is so pleased to make himself useful and to be able to contribute in some way. I have to admit that I would never have suspected this kind of talent and this attitude as being latent in Father Mouchel. It is most unfortunate that he cannot make a go of it as a professor even though he is not lacking in either knowledge or judgment. He is so exceedingly shy, or rather, he is so taken with stage fright when he finds himself standing in front of an audience that, not only is he left speechless, but even his mind goes blank.”
Marseilles, l’Osier, Parménie (1843-1847)
Father Mouchel worked in Corsica until the beginning of 1843. In Father Mouchel’s obituary, Father Fabre wrote that he remained in Corsica for ten years. Some contemporary documents contradict this assertion. In February 1843, the Founder informed Father Moreau, the superior at Ajaccio that he was recalling Father Mouchel to the major seminary in Marseilles. At the local chapter of June 7, 1843, he was assigned to the Oblate house of Le Calvaire. In May of 1844, he received his obedience for Notre-Dame de l’Osier, but had his residence at Parménie, a shrine situated near l’Osier and entrusted to the Oblates from 1842 to 1856.
According to the General Council’s report of September 18, 1846, he was sent to le Calvaire. “This priest whose presence is not of great usefulness in the house at l’Osier will make himself more useful in Marseilles. In the community of Le Calvaire, he will give edification by his regular life and, at the same time, he will be at the service of the Sisters of St. Charles.”
Treasurer at Nancy (1847-1849)
In 1847, because of the number of postulants entering the novitiate as a result of a vocations recruiting tour throughout France and Belgium made by Father Léonard Baveux (1846-1848), a second novitiate was established at Nancy. Father Mouchel was appointed treasurer there and arrived on September 1, soon followed by Father Dassy, the superior. Father Dassy always had a tendency of judging his co-workers harshly and he found his treasurer to be somewhat of a spendthrift. December 7, the Founder wrote to him: “I well understand how annoyed you must be by the spendthrift habits of good Father Mouchel. He is a poor bursar in every sense of the term; so I am not going to let him continue in that work; but right now, who do we replace him with, in the shortage of people at your house? The system he has adopted, namely, during the absence of the superior to hasten and make expenditures he knew would not be approved by the latter, is a detestable practice and completely contrary to the principles of obedience and poverty. It is true that you are accused of pushing parsimony to an extreme; it is said that you caused your community at Lablachère to die from hunger. We must avoid extremes. I certainly do not approve pampering, yet we must not arouse grumbling by imposing excessive privation.” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1843-1849, Oblate Writings I, vol. 10, no. 956, p. 194)
There you have, it seems, the only fault, not well grounded, that we find in Oblate sources impeaching Father Mouchel’s virtue. Even though he was not very gifted as a teacher or a preacher, he was always considered a model religious and beloved wherever he went. In his obituary, Father Fabre described him in these words: “Father Mouchel was a little over average in height. Although his constitution was not robust, he always enjoyed good health from the time he joined the Congregation. His kindly demeanour along with the pleasant symmetry of his features, his deliberate gait, his bearing, which was always dignified, lent to his overall appearance something pleasant and appealing which led people to like him. We can only be proud of the pleasure that frequent contact with him produced. Conversation never languished when he was present [….] As for what went on inside and in the community, he edified his confreres by his regularity and his obedience, setting himself to acquire the virtues that produce a fervent religious…”
Ceylon (1849-1880)
After the first Oblates left for Ceylon in 1847, Father Mouchel never ceased asking to be sent to that country. He got to know Father Semeria in Switzerland and at Aix. He wanted to go the foreign missions, but feared not being able to adjust to the cold of North America. May 9, 1848, Bishop de Mazenod wrote to Father Semeria: “I think that, knowing English as he does, he would be a good acquisition for your mission. This Father is very virtuous and his attraction to the missions to unbelievers is very pronounced.” (Letters to Ceylon and Africa, 1847-1860) Oblate Writings I, vol. 4, no. 3, p.12)
June 28, 1848, the General Council assigned Father Mouchel to Ceylon. Along with two young priests, Fathers Félix Leydier and Jean Lebescou, he embarked for Ceylon March 23, 1849. It was Father Mouchel who organized the trip and the Founder was astonished at his competence. On March 23, he wrote: “I have never seen such zeal, such ardour as that of the good Fr. Mouchel. You would not believe all the trouble he has gone to, the excursions he has made, the thought he has taken to make this journey a success. He has spared no effort, and I must say that he has perfectly succeeded in his aim. And at the same time his pleasant manner and his perseverance have helped him to make the acquaintance of certain gentlemen with whom he had to deal in preparing for the voyage, and they have shown themselves utterly devoted to him and to the work, so that we will be able to rely on their kindness when we come to send other men. Our Fr. Mouchel shows constancy when he undertakes anything, and he is also such a good priest, such a good religious, he has such a good character, that he will be a real treasure for you. He will share your difficulties with you, and we are agreed that he will not discourage you. He knows English passably well and is quite ready to learn the other languages that are necessary for the exercise of your ministry. He is so good that he laughed when he heard of your fear that he might be too old for the difficult work of leaning to talk. If he speaks to you about it, laugh about it with him.” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1843-1849, Oblate Writings I, vol. 10, no. 11, p. 33-34)
In Ceylon, Father Mouchel was appointed first assessor and admonitor of Father Semeria. During his first years, he was successively given responsibility for the missions of Batticaloa, Kalpentyn, Point Pedro and Mannar. In Father Mouchel’s obituary, Father Boisseau wrote: “At this point in time, everything had to be built from the ground up in the vicariate of Jaffna. For lack of missionaries, the indifference of the ones and the scandalous example of a number of others, the majority of Christians were in a lamentable state. Ignorance of the truths of the faith, the unrelenting propaganda of the Protestants at the time, the pagan superstitions, and the inveterate practices of Goa, more or less tainted with Jansenism, were the main obstacles to progress in religion [….] If you add to all these difficulties the loneliness caused by the insufficient number of missionaries, the difficulties incurred because of a yet imperfect grasp of the language, the morals and customs of the country, lack of money, the completely rundown condition of the majority of the churches and the rectories, etc… one would have a small idea of the physical and moral labours that the pioneers of our Congregation in Ceylon had to endure. Reverend Father Mouchel had a large share in the trials that were the lot of our elders….”
In 1856, Father Mouchel fell ill with a fever and ulcers on his body. Father Semeria summoned him to Jaffna and, appointed him pro-vicar for the missions while he made a trip to Europe to take part in the General Chapter and to be consecrated bishop. He would hold that office yet again during the long absences of Bishop Semeria for the Chapters of 1861 and 1867.
Father Mouchel resided in Jaffna from 1856 until his death to act as counsellor and co-worker with Bishops Semeria and Bonjean. In 1863, he was the one who took on the task of building a convent for the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux. About 1870, he gave up any ministry since he was too deaf to hear confessions. Father Boisseau wrote: “Ordinary member of the community for the last years of his life, he edified us by his most scrupulous observation of the house rule. Always up at the first sound of the bell, we never saw him idle. He read a great deal and, during recreation, he loved to relate to others the edifying and interesting items he found in his readings. He theological knowledge was extensive and solid and he was most graciously ready to resolve the problems that we might wish to submit to him. Witty and endowed with a lively disposition, Reverend Father Mouchel was the life of our recreation time….”
From the beginning of 1880 on, his health failed rapidly. He died on September 19.
Yvon Beaudoin, o.m.i.
