Pope to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate: “Maintain a preferential openness toward the least”

Pope Leo XIV met the religious in an audience, together with the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, on the occasion of the anniversaries of the two missionary congregations. He recalled the history of the Oblates, founded in 1816 by Saint Eugene de Mazenod in the post‑Revolutionary French context. He highlighted their presence in Europe, Africa, and Asia, which began in 1847 with their arrival in Ceylon. He also emphasized the gift of a “charismatic family and growing interculturality.”

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – This morning, in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV received in audience the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, on the 200th anniversary of their papal approval, and the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, on the 150th anniversary of their foundation. These are two religious institutes united by a “missionary vocation,” he underlined. To the men and women religious, the Pope encouraged preserving the “sincere and generous family spirit” inspired by their founders, a spirit that “is born from the encounter with God, from the Eucharist.”

The Pope recalled the motto chosen by Saint Eugene de Mazenod, founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI): “He has sent me to evangelize the poor” (cf. Is 61:1; Lk 4:18). The congregation was founded in 1816 in Aix‑en‑Provence, at a time when “Europe was shaken by complex and dramatic events,” grappling with the consequences of the French Revolution. Pope Leo XIV noted that Saint Eugene spoke and acted “in defense of the dignity of the poor, workers and peasants, exploited as productive resources and ignored in the deepest needs of their humanity.”

The French bishop (1782–1861) showed “bold and provocative courage” in sending religious from France out into the world. “First to Canada and then to other parts of the world: in Europe, Africa, and Asia,” the Pope recalled. An important milestone was the beginning of missions in Asia in 1847, with the arrival in Ceylon, Sri Lanka, which marked the start of the congregation’s Asian presence. But the OMI are also present in other Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, and Japan. That early openness was followed by “an impressive flourishing of missionary and vocational activity,” he said.

This growth has continued “to the present day, with more than three thousand religious spread across seventy countries of the world,” the Pope added. He told those present: “You continue to carry out your ministry with the same preferential openness toward the least, enriched by the precious gift of an extended charismatic family and growing interculturality.” He invited the missionaries to welcome “this vitality as a gift and as a sign.” And, quoting Pope Francis, he reminded them that they offer the Church “missionary dynamism” and “life,” “participating in her journey toward the peripheries of the world loved by God.”

Turning to the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles—whose motto is “With Mary, the Mother of Jesus” (cf. Acts 1:14)—Pope Leo XIV emphasized that “many women responded” to the call of their founder, Fr. Augustin Planque (1826–1907), “from France and from many other countries, accepting the challenge of remaining with Mary in order to be, like her, witnesses of Christ among the apostles and in the world.” Many of them paid for this service with their lives, “due to the hardships of missionary work, exposure to illness, or martyrdom.”

“And even today you are present in difficult contexts, where you offer your service with faith and respect for all,” the Pope continued. “I encourage you, dear sisters, to continue this mission, becoming ever more, wherever you serve, witnesses of fraternity and peace.”