Born: Düsseldorf, Germany, January 6, 1825
Took the habit: N.-D. de l’Osier, August 14, 1847
Vows: N.-D. de l’Osier, August 15, 1848 (No. 207)
Expelled: August 16, 1851.
Charles Zucker was born in Düsseldorf, diocese of Cologne, on January 6, 1825. Having entered the novitiate of Notre-Dame de l’Osier on August 14, 1847, he took vows there on August 15, 1848. He had been admitted to vows in the general council meeting of the preceding August 7. The minutes of the meeting provide the following comment: “As for Brother Zucker, German by birth, the Reverend Father Master says that he is a capable candidate and that he could be very useful in the missions of America; he is filled with ardour and zeal but his character could make him a difficult subject for his superiors and painful for his brothers.” On August 12, the Founder informed Father Vincent of his admission, telling him that “If you hope to form a candidate for the missions abroad, I agree to his admission to the novitiate, because for France he would be completely unsuited.”
After his religious profession, Charles Zucker spent the school year 1848-1849 with the scholastics in the Marseille major seminary. He then stayed some time in Notre-Dame de l’Osier during the summer of 1849 before going to visit his family and leaving for England in September of that same year. The Founder wrote to Father Vincens on May 20: “Watch Brother Zucker and make sure he overcomes his eccentricities; that he practices the virtues of kindness and patience; the extravagant ways to which he is prone are not bearable.”
He continued the study of theology in the scholasticate of Maryvale in 1849-1850 and received minor orders from Bishop de Mazenod on July 21, 1850, during the visit of the Founder to England. In 1850 or 1851 he left for Canada. However his name does not appear in either manu or printed sources of the country. All we know is that the expulsion of Charles Zucker is noted in the minutes of the General Council for August 16, 1851: “This Oblate Brother, during the crossing from Liverpool to New York, on the way to Canada with seven other Fathers or Brothers, behaved in a scandalous fashion. Instead of returning to a better way after his arrival, he has continued to scandalize his confreres by his suggestions that betray a corrupted heart. That is why Father Tempier, now visitor extraordinary in Canada, decided to order him to leave, while at the same time writing to the Superior General requesting that he be dispensed from his vows. This Brother has therefore been declared unworthy to live in our family, which has sanctity as a distinctive characteristic. The Superior General with the unanimous consent of his council decided upon his expulsion from the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.”
Yvon Beaudoin, o.m.i.
