Lucien-Marie Dorne

Lucien-Marie Dorne (born July 2, 1914 in Andancette , † April 2, 2006 in Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier ) was a French Roman Catholic clergyman and founder of the order. He called the “Missionary Family of Our Lady” (French: Famille Missionnaire de Notre-Dame , FMND) into being, which is also represented in Germany.

life and work

The way to ordination

Dorne, who grew up in Privas in the Ardèche department , was shaped in his youth by the Catholic scouting movement , where the later Africa missionary Joseph Labrosse (1907-1992) was his instructor. In 1930 he was present when a statue of Notre Dame des Neiges (" Maria Schnee "), the patron saint of the Boy Scouts, was erected in Gavarnie in the Pyrenees . With the intention of joining the scout order planned by the Jesuit Jacques Sevin (1882-1951) , he studied theology at the seminary in Issy-les-Moulineaux (spiritual advisor: Marc-Armand Lallier ), but returned because the order was not founded , returned to his homeland and was ordained a priest in Viviers in 1941 .

Supervisor of a sister collection in Annonay

He served first in Bourg-Saint-Andéol , from 1942 in Annonay . There he became the spiritual leader of a group of young women who felt a calling to the consecrated life and whom he oriented towards the ideals of the Scout Movement, the Legion of Mary and the Little Sisters of Jesus . He gave the group the name Equipe Notre Dame des Neiges ("Team Maria Schnee"). The veneration of Maria Schnee was also known to Dorne from the Trappist Abbey of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges , located in the same diocese .

Creation of the spiritual family in Annonay

In 1944, after he had started his training in February and the group had consecrated itself to Maria Schnee on March 25, a superior was still missing to establish a proper community. The 37-year-old Augusta Bernard (born April 18, 1907 in Annonay, † April 11, 1963), who joined the Sœurs de Notre-Dame du Cénacle (Sisters of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Upper Room , RC) in Lalouvesc had been turned away due to illness and which he commissioned with the management in June 1945. The group now had “father” and “mother” and considered themselves “family”. Dorne had a statue of Maria Schnee erected near Annonay. When in doubt as to whether he should dare to found an order, he sought advice from the mystic Marthe Robin in nearby Châteauneuf-de-Galaure at the end of 1945 . As this encouraged him, he turned to Bishop Alfred Couderc (1937-1965) in January 1946. The latter reacted negatively and in February, in order to prevent further influence, transferred him as a pastor to Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier , near Aubenas , at the other end of the diocese, almost in the desert.

The Domini family is founded in Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier

In Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier, women of the Catholic Action ( Action Catholique Générale Féminine , AGCF) had vowed in July 1944 to erect a statue of the Virgin Mary if the place was spared by the Germans. The new pastor seized the opportunity and had a statue of Mary Snow erected here, which was modeled on the Miraculous Medal and for which Bishop Couderc not only came to the inauguration on December 15, 1946, but also allowed the foundation. This day is now considered the foundation day of the community. In May 1947 the first sisters from Annonay came to Saint-Pierre-de-Colombier, and in 1948 the concept was completed. The convent should see itself as a family, bear the family name “Domini” (the Lord) and, under the leadership of Maria Schnee, dedicate itself to the apostolate of love and the education of the heart.

Establishment of the Congregation “Missionary Family of Our Lady” and Death

In 1975 a male branch was added. In 1984, Dorne and other brothers took perpetual vows before Bishop Jean Hermil (1965–1992). In 1994 the community was founded canonically by Bishop Jean Bonfils (1992–1998) with the consent of Rome as an association of believers, in 2000 by Bishop François Blondel (1998–2015) as an institute of consecrated life for a trial period of five years, and in 2005 it was finally canonically established. The name addition "des Neiges" requested by the congregation was not approved by Rome due to the danger of confusion with the Trappist abbey. Six months later, Dorne died.

Further development of the missionary family

Since July 24, 2008, the Missionary Family of Our Lady in France has been officially recognized as a congregation, whereby mission is to be understood in the sense of an inner mission . It meets annually on December 15th at the motherhouse in Saint-Pierre-du-Colombier. In addition to the French branches in Privas (1953), Saint-Montan , Lyon (1979), Marseille (1980), Grand-Fougeray (1984), Schlettstadt (1988), Trans-en-Provence (1996), Bergerac , Sens , Vannes , Cannes , Sainte-Maxime , Lourdes , La Roche-sur-Yon , Biarritz , as well as Rome, it is also represented in Germany (pilgrimage chapel on the Litzelberg in Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl ).

Web links

• Congregation website, French
• Website of the German branch, German
• Entry in the French Religious Conference, with picture