Oblates of the Immaculate Virgin Mary

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The Oblates of the Immaculate Virgin Mary ( Latin Oblati Mariae Immaculatae ; order abbreviation OMI) are a missionary religious community in the Roman Catholic Church . The religious community was founded in 1816 by St. Eugene of Mazenod . Their relatives are also called "Oblate Missionaries" or, in Germany, "Huenfeld Oblates".

Surname

The name Oblaten comes from the Latin oblatus , "given, offered". The oblate is one who gives his life for God in a religious community.

history

Order founder Eugene of Mazenod

Under the influence of the French Revolution , the Christian faith played an increasingly less important role in the life of the “common people”. After the French nobleman Eugene of Mazenod was ordained a priest , he refused any transfer offer from his bishop in order to be able to support these people, the “poorest and most abandoned”. Soon he felt the call to found a community of priests who preached the faith in a simple way - especially in the Provencal dialect. On January 25, 1816, he founded the Missionaries of Provence .

Ten years later, on February 17, 1826, the community was founded under the name Oblati Mariae Immaculatae by Pope Leo XII. formally established as a congregation of clergy under papal law. The rules of the order written by Eugen von Mazenod and the constitutions, which were examined in detail by the Congregation for Religious Affairs on this occasion, are based on the rule of the Redemptorists .

Soon the Oblates were not only active in Provence, they spread to various dioceses in France; the congregation led the missionary movement that began in the mid-19th century. From 1841, the main goals of the missionaries were mainly the French colonies and Canada . Other destinations from 1847 were Ceylon and the United States , Algeria and South Africa ( Natal ).

At the present time the oblates are represented on all continents. In January 2012 the Order had 4,093 members, including 3,025 priests, 383 brothers and 42 bishops, including Francis Eugene Cardinal George of Chicago . Father Louis Lougen OMI from the United States has been Superior General since September 28, 2010 .

A branch of the order for women, the Oblates of the Immaculate Virgin Mary , was established a few years ago.

The religious order in Germany

The first establishment in Germany was the Bonifatiuskloster in Hünfeld in 1895 , which was founded primarily with the purpose of training missionaries for pastoral care in German South West Africa , today's Namibia .

The Oblates had a German religious province from 1895 to 2007. On May 21, 2007, the Central European Province was founded, which consists of the former German Province and the former General Delegation Austria-Czech Republic. It is currently headed by the Provincial Father Felix Rehbock OMI, who was introduced to his office on May 26, 2019. In January 2019 there were 112 fathers and brothers in 13 branches in the Central European Province.

Provincials of the Central European Province

Saints and Blessed of the religious community

Oblates for which a beatification process has been opened

including the oblates who were made Venerable Servants of God :

Superior general

Other important wafers

Oblate Bishops

Branches

Germany

Boniface monastery in Hünfeld

Austria

St. Paul Oblate Monastery in Vienna-Hietzing

Czech Republic

  • Tabor-Klokoty Rectorate
  • Rectorate Plasy

Former branches in the area of ​​the Central European Order Province

Web links

Commons : Oblates (OMI)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento from July 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b P. Stefan Obergfell, Provinzial: Announcement of January 14, 2019 , accessed on January 21, 2019
  3. ↑ VRM GmbH & Co KG: "The end is also a new beginning" - Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .
  4. ↑ La Croix: Dix missionnaires français béatifiés au Laos , accessed on December 13, 2016.
  5. ↑ VRM GmbH & Co KG: "God has his own plans" - Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .