Category Archives: LETTERS

Despite Eugene’s lack of interest, his mother and her cousin Roze never gave up trying to find him the rich girl of their dreams. Eugene wrote about once such incident to his father: Last night someone came to officially ask … Continue reading →

Leflon tells us that Eugene “began looking for a way to establish his own living quarters. His first solution was one his mother had in mind: a profitable marriage which would enable him to live lavishly on the revenues of … Continue reading →

Pielorz (The Spiritual Life, p. 110-111) describes Eugene’s marriage plans. We may be shocked as we read this, but we need to bear in mind the culture and customs of two centuries ago in France where marriages were arranged. His family, … Continue reading →

Eugene’s letters to his father during the first few years of his return to France show a full immersion in the social life and values of the upper class of Aix. Their contents are full of social gossip about the … Continue reading →

Eugene de Mazenod, at 23 years of age, angrily writes to his father about this portrait.  You think that the 54 francs I spent, in having my portrait engraved, were well spent; but I am very sorry to have to … Continue reading →

Eventually Eugene’s exile at St Laurent came to an end and he immersed himself in the life of the high society of Aix. We amuse ourselves like royalty. We run after pleasure, which runs faster than us…. Letter to his … Continue reading →

“Lord of the manor” Eugene may have thought himself, but the lord also was involved in the harvest of one of the farm products at St. Laurent.  This description of the 21 year-old’s antics shows us a side of Eugene … Continue reading →

The five months spent at Saint-Laurent had given him only too clear a picture of the family estate; buildings falling apart, the tower in ruins, the suites plundered and stripped of all furniture, and the lands poorly cultivated. Moreover, he … Continue reading →

A reminder of the map of the present series of reflections. In order to understand Mazenodian spirituality it is necessary to look at the formation of the instrument through whom the spirituality comes. What were the events and elements that formed … Continue reading →

Summarizing Eugene’s letters of this period, Pielorz gives us a picture of Eugene’s life in Palermo: Welcomed as an intimate member of a princely family, Eugene is no longer the Venetian ascetic, nor the fish out of water of Naples … Continue reading →