THE AIX COMMUNITY AS AN “APOSTOLIC SCHOOL” FOR STUDENTS

The Register of Entries into the Novitiate and other archival material note that Jean Baptiste de Bausset, a member of the Youth Congregation, was in the first group of novices in Aix and was a Missionary for two years. When he left the Missionaries he continued to reside with them while studying law at the university. This entry points to an important development in the house of Aix. It had many rooms and some of these were used as accommodation for students.

All together the records indicate that some fourteen Youth Congregation members entered the novitiate. Moreover seventeen of the Youth came to live at the Mission House from 1816 onwards either as postulants or as students of the colleges in Aix. Of these six became diocesan priests and one a Brother of Saint John of God. Rey and Jeancard speak of this as being an “apostolic school.”

Apart from the Youth Congregation members, we have no other records to indicate exactly how many young men came to live in the house while they did their studies in Aix. This outreach to the students of Aix is an interesting one and it is a pity that so many documents were destroyed or lost due to the expulsions of the religious from France, and that we do not have more details.

This outreach to students continues today with three projects:

• The Pause-Midi, where some 80 students gather each day in our cloister from 0730 till 1400. It is a place of meeting for them and a place of Oblate presence to listen to them.
• The project Oser, where we have students renting rooms but also meeting as a small community regularly with Oblates. Each student also has to have a commitment to a project in the city to help others. Linked with this is there is a project that helps students to find accommodation in Aix.
• The School of Mission, though not based in Aix, continues the tradition of Eugene’s “apostolic school” with the formation of young people who participate in missionary activities with us.