The Congregation of the Oratory of Jesus and Mary Immaculate (french: Société de l'Oratoire de Jésus et de Marie Immaculée, la, Congregatio Oratorii Iesu et Mariæ), best known as the French Oratory, is a society of apostolic life of Catholic priests founded in 1611 in Paris, France, by

Pierre de Bérulle Pierre de Bérulle (4 February 1575 – 2 October 1629) was a French Catholic priest, cardinal and statesman, one of the most important mystics of the 17th century in France. He was the founder of the French school of spirituality, who could coun ...

(1575–1629), later a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

of the Catholic Church. They are known as Bérullians or Oratorians. The French Oratory had a determinant influence on the French school of spirituality throughout the 17th century. It is separate and distinct from the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, which served as its inspiration. The aim of the Society is to center spiritual life on the human aspect of Jesus, linked to the essence of God. Unlike the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, whose communities are all autonomous, the French Oratory operates under the central authority of a

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

History

Founding

In France, Bérulle, ordained a priest in 1599, felt that the clergy of the country had lost their spirit, seeking only the economic security of

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

s. With the goal of restoring the spiritual commitment to their calling, on 11 November 1611, he and five other priests founded a society of priests, without the obligation of

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

, in which one would dedicate one's entire strength to priestly perfection, in order to carry out all the functions of this ministry and to shape in piety those who aspired to this. Bérulle hoped that such priests would both inspire others of the French clergy, and blunt the attraction of Calvinism. Taking the example of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri in Rome, he envisioned

secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...

living together in community. However, Bérulle felt that the situation in France required a tighter organizational structure than Neri's communities in Italy, so the French Oratory operated under the authority of a Superior General. The Oratory received

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

from King Louis XIII of France that same year. Pope Paul V authorized them on 10 May 1613. At the time of the founder's death in 1629, the Oratory numbered about 400 priests, living in some 60 communities. Collège de Vendôme

Like the Jesuits and Capuchins, members of the French Oratory conducted parish missions.Donnelly S.J., John "The Congregation of the Oratory", ''Religious Orders in the Catholic Reformation'', (Richard DeMolen, ed.) New York: Fordham University Press, 1994, p. 205 The French Oratory became very important in the area of

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

, as the Fathers of the congregation were confessors of influential people, for example Charles de Condren, confessor to Prince Gaston of France, King Louis' brother, and were protected by the royal court, especially Queen Marie de Medici. They also were confessors to numerous monasteries of Discalced Carmelite nuns, who had been established in France, through the efforts of Bérulle, under the leadership of the

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatura ...

Marie of the Incarnation, O.C.D. The church which the Oratorians built on the Rue Saint-Honoré in 1750 became the parish church of the royal court. Although not a teaching order, it was the first to organize seminaries in France according to the ordinances of the Council of Trent.Ingold, Augustin. "French Congregation of the Oratory." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 3 January 2016 The Oratorians also became leading figures in the field of education in France and founded their own schools and colleges, such as the

College of Juilly The College of Juilly (French: ''Collège de Juilly'') was a Catholic private teaching establishment located in the commune of Juilly, in Seine-et-Marne (France). Directed by the French Oratorians, it was created in 1638 by the congregationist ...

which they opened in 1638. In their schools, they taught in French, rather than the Latin used in the Jesuit schools. They had a curriculum which taught contemporary literature and the sciences. Their students learned modern foreign languages as opposed to the classical languages.

Dispersal

When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, initially the Fathers of the Oratory were very supportive of the ideals of liberty that it espoused, which fit into their corporate ethos. Despite this support, the Legislative Assembly of the new Republic dissolved all secular congregations in August 1792 and their communities and schools were disbanded. Some of the lay teachers in their schools, such as Jacques Nicolas Billaud-Varenne, became greatly involved with the Revolution. Of the 288 members of the Oratory at that time, 51 chose to accept the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. They made up about one-fifth of the French clergy who did so. Of the rest of the Congregation, 15 were arrested and died either in prison or on the guillotine. The rest went into hiding or fled the country. The last Superior General had died in 1790, but, given the social upheavals going on, the Oratorians decided to wait it out before attempting to elect a successor, thinking that the situation would be only temporary.

Restoration

Several attempts were made to re-establish the Congregation after the Catholic Church was allowed to function again in the nation. They were successful only in 1852, under the leadership of the

Abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for lowe ...

Joseph Gratry, together with the Abbés Pierre Pététot (1801–1888) and

Hyacinthe de Valroger Hyacinthe de Valroger, CO (6 January 1814, at Caen – 10 October 1876), was a French Catholic priest and Oratorian. Career As a young man, Valroger first studied medicine, but later entered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1837, af ...

. Gratry was an academic, holding doctorates in both the humanities and theology. He was named the Almoner of the École Normale Supérieure in 1846, which placed him at the center of intellectual life of the period. He envisioned communities which could be schools of theological exploration, working with the scientific focus of modern society. Pététot was a pastor in Paris, who saw the clergy of the day as worldly and poorly formed. When they met, they found that they shared a desire for secular priests living in community, without vows. In 1903, forced to leave the country as a result of the anti-clerical laws of the Third French Republic, the Oratorians took refuge in Switzerland, returning to France only in 1920.

Current status

As of 2019, they numbered 35 members in 13 locations.Oratoire de France
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Legacy

The Society of Priests of Saint Sulpice was founded in 1641 with the purpose of the education of priests, by

Jean-Jacques Olier Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ...

, a disciple of Oratorian Charles de Condren. John Eudes was a member of the Oratory before leaving to establish the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.

Notable Oratorians

* Louis Bouyer *

Nicolas Malebranche Nicolas Malebranche ( , ; 6 August 1638 – 13 October 1715) was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesize the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the ...

* Jean-Baptiste Massillon * Pasquier Quesnel * Achille Harlay de Sancy * Richard Simon *

References

Sources

* McGrath-Merkle, Clare. ''Berulle's Spiritual Theology of Priesthood''. Aschendorff Verlag, 2018.

External links

Oratoire de France website
{{Authority control French school of spirituality 1611 establishments in France Religious organizations established in the 1610s Christian organizations based in France 1610s establishments in France