Henri Chaumont

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Henri Chaumont (1838-1896)

Henri Chaumont (born December 11, 1838 in Paris , † May 15, 1896 in Paris) was a Catholic priest . In 1872, together with Caroline Carré de Malberg, he founded the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales , 1876 the priests and sons of St. Francis de Sales and in 1889 the Salesian Missionaries of the Immaculate Virgin Mary .

Life

Childhood and youth

Henri Chaumont was born on December 11, 1838 in Paris, France, the second of eight children. Very early on, his personality combined a certain mischievousness with extraordinary sensitivity. His religious upbringing was on a solid foundation. From a young age he eagerly read the Faith Formation Yearbooks , which encouraged a missionary spirit in him.

When he was about ten years old, Henri became seriously ill. This disease was made worse by religious scruples and fears. Fortunately, he was supported by the priest Louis-Gaston de Segur (1820–1881), a friend of the family, who from then on stood by Henri Chaumont for years as a spiritual guide and advisor. Henri also felt the vocation to be a priest. First, however, he began to learn the craft of watchmaking from his father for four years before he finally entered the seminary.

Segur was an ardent devotee of St. Francis de Sales , so that Henri came into contact with this saint for the first time through him. In the seminary, too, during meals, the writings of St. Read aloud to Francis de Sales. Under this influence and because of his admiration for the Acts of the New Testament , he soon wished that he too should go out into the world as a priest to proclaim the good news of the Gospel to everyone. The manner of this proclamation should be as exemplified by Francis de Sales. Above all, the method of friendship should play a major role, according to the statement of the saint: "He who has won the heart of a person owns the whole person."

The first years of priesthood

Henri Chaumont was ordained a priest on January 17, 1864. His first job was the chaplain in the parish of St. Marcel, a suburb on the outskirts of Paris. It was a difficult task for him. Within a year, Chaumont had to endure several blows of fate. His father died. In his parish there was strong criticism and also some abuse against the young priest. All of these events taken together took their toll. Henri Chaumont fell seriously ill again. Many members of the parish and many friends began praying for his recovery. They implored St. Francis of Sales for his help. After three weeks, exactly on the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, his condition began to improve by leaps and bounds. In his gratitude for having regained health, Henri promised to make a pilgrimage to Annecy , the city where Francis de Sales lived and worked for many years.

This pilgrimage took place in June 1868. While traveling by train, Chaumont wrote a letter that contained the following words: “I must live like this man, this saint who knew so well how to live holy and lead others to holiness. When I talk to him there, I want to learn his secret. "

On the way to Annecy, Chaumont also stopped in Troyes . There he met Maria Salesia Chappuis , a sister of the Order of the Visitation of Mary , and Louis Brisson , who in 1866 the Oblates and in 1872 the Oblates of St. Francis of Sales founded. They talked about Chaumont's idea of ​​a community of women living in the spirit of St. Francis de Sales should lead a Christian life in the world. Sister Maria Salesia Chappuis encouraged Chaumont to start this community. After Annecy he met Bishop Gaspard Mermillod (1824-1892), a successor of St. Francis de Sales as Bishop of Geneva . Also this bishop, also a devotee of St. Francis de Sales and promoter of Salesian spirituality , was very interested in Chaumont's plan: women who live in the world, without religious dress and without vows, who simply try to advance on the path of piety, with the help of friendship with like-minded people a “rule of life” derived from the writings of St. Francis de Sales, especially by the instructions for a pious life , also called Philothea , is inspired. In Annecy itself Henri Chaumont wrote: “Whatever else I will do in my life, I will be at the feet of St. Francis de Sales and St. Johanna Franziska von Chantal live and I will share it with the whole world. "

Foundation of the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales

In December 1868, Henri Chaumont was appointed pastor of Ste-Clotilde . This parish was in a better part of Paris, but that was irrelevant to Chaumont because he was always very humble. His zeal, which he showed from the beginning in this parish, impressed many people.

During this time, Mrs. Caroline Carré de Malberg introduced herself to him . She had just lost a child at the age of four and shared her suffering with him. After this meeting, after some deliberation and consultation with her brother, a Dominican, Caroline de Malberg asked Chaumont to take over her spiritual guidance and Chaumont agreed.

Mrs. Carrè de Malberg was an officer's wife who was very committed to society. In the midst of this fashionable world, however, she preserved her Christian values. Some other women felt the same way. Chaumont now advised Mrs. Malberg to meet regularly with like-minded women and to talk about their faith and share the Philothea of ​​St. Reading Francis de Sales. That was the beginning of the group of women that Henri Chaumont had always dreamed of: women who support each other in leading a Christian life in everyday life.

In 1870 the Franco-German War broke out, so that the group could only meet very sporadically. It was not until October 15, 1872 that the group could meet for their formal formation. It consisted of three women who prayed with Fr. Chaumont and adopted the "Rule of the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales" as their future rule of life. These rules gave an overview of how to live a Christian life in the world under the protection of St. Francis de Sales and St. Johanna Franziska von Chantal should lead. In addition, the women in the parishes should get involved as helpers of the priests, especially in catechesis for other women.

After this establishment, other groups emerged, and Chaumont put his daughters at their head . The original group grew to 25 women in a few years. Some of the new groups were the Christian women , the Christian nurses, and the Christian widows . The main idea of ​​Chaumont was always to renew the Christian spirit where the worldly spirit endangers Christianity. Of the Christian women to Chaumont expected from this approach were growing Christian teachers who gave the children catechism in their spare time.

Foundation of the priests and sons of St. Francis de Sales

Henri Chaumont himself wanted as a priest not to be alone with his duties. Therefore, in 1874, he called on the priests of his diocese to form a group of priests with him, which should support one another in their priestly life and stand under the motto "Live Jesus". Members should also receive Salesian training and learn the principles of St. Learn Francis de Sales for spiritual guidance so that they can be of service to all Salesian communities . In 1876 this group of priests officially called themselves Priests of St. Francis de Sales .

In 1876, Henri Chaumont started a community of men, the sons of St. Francis de Sales , whose task it should be to give a Christian witness in the midst of the world. Similar to the daughters , these men should also volunteer in the parishes as helpers of the priests. They were supposed to bring the faith exactly where the priests rarely got: the houses and the workplaces.

Foundation of the Salesian Missionaries

In 1879 the number of daughters of St. Francis de Sales was so big that people began to think about other activities, especially missionary work . Three daughters were willing to accept the invitation of the Bishop of Nagpur to travel to India as missionaries. Believing that one woman can achieve more with other women, missionaries should give special attention to the needs of women and the poor. In 1889 the first three daughters traveled to India under the direction of Mrs. Gertrude Gros . Henri Chaumont reminded them once again that the key to their work should be spiritual friendship and that their goal is to give other women their dignity and the salvation revealed by Jesus Christ, who is humble and meek in heart. These women founded the Salesian Missionaries of the Immaculate Virgin Mary (SMMI). Today these missionaries work among the poor in many countries around the world.

The last years of life

In the last years of his life, from 1881 to 1896, Henri Chaumont suffered many losses: the death of his spiritual guide Louis-Gaston de Segur, the death of Caroline Carrè de Malberg, the dissolution of the community of Christian women and the death of Fr. Tissot, the spiritual guide and advisor to Segur, and finally his mother's death in 1895. He felt drained himself. One of his last activities was the celebration of Pentecost , the patron saint of his founding, with the traditional Pentecost novena .

Henri Chaumont died on May 15, 1896. He was a man of extraordinary energy who always listened carefully to the needs of those around him. His words from 1892 summarize his belief in the value of Salesian spirituality : “The first requirement for anyone entering the school of St. Francis de Sales is that everyone comes there with a deep understanding of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Philothea online ( Memento from July 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Chaumont, Henri
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French Catholic priest, founder of the order
DATE OF BIRTH December 11, 1838
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH May 15, 1896
Place of death Paris