Blessed Frederic Ozanam

Founder: 1813-1853

His life

+ Frederic was born in Milan, Italy, and became involved in charity work while studying in Paris.

+ Always dedicated to the Catholic Faith, he made a promise to God that he would devote his life to the service of the Truth.

+ Receiving a doctorate in Letters, he was named university chair of the commercial law department in Lyons and became a fully-tenured judge at the Sorbonne.

+ Suffering from ill health, he was forced to return to Milan where he died in 1853.

+ Blessed Frederic Ozanam was beatified in 1997.

Worth knowing

Frederic—who was only 20 years old at the time—and seven companions established a charitable organization that came to be known as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Inspired by the boundless charity of that great saint—who is honored as the patron of social workers—the Society of St. Vincent de Paul serves the poor in dozens of countries through relief work and, here in the United States, through their charity stores and food pantries.

Quote

“[Frederic] observed the real situation of the poor and sought to be more and more effective in helping them in their human development. He understood that charity must lead to efforts to remedy injustice.”—Pope Saint John Paul II

To learn more about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, visit: www.svdusa.org

Prayer

O God, who have taught your Church to keep all the heavenly commandments by love of you as God and love of neighbor; grant that, practicing the works of charity after the example of blessed Frederic, we may be worthy to be numbered among the blessed in your Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For Those Who Practiced Works of Mercy)

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Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.