Word of the Postulator

Pope Benedict XVI called on the entire Church to celebrate a « year of faith ». It was meant to be an opportunity to recommit ourselves to search for the truth: the truth about God and the truth about Man. It also meant bearing clear and courageous witness to our faith in Jesus Christ in the midst of our world and the men and women who surround us.

One basic criterion in demonstrating the holiness of a Servant of God is precisely that of showing how he practiced a life of virtue, especially the virtue of faith. We know that Fr. d’Alzon was a man of faith and that it was this beacon that enlightened his whole life, all his apostolic initiatives, his love of the Church, and his unconditional commitment to Jesus Christ.

By Fr. Oliver Blanchette, A.A.

Fr. Julio Navarro, Postulator for the Cause of Beatification of Fr. d’Alzon is, to say the least, a good salesman! In the 5^th issue of “Signs of God", he links the Church’s recognition of the holiness of our Founder with our own call to holiness. Thus for Assumptionists and all those belonging to the larger family of the Assumption - friends, volunteers and Lay Assumptionists - Fr Julio is, in a sense, telling us that it’s in our own deepest interest to work for the canonization of Fr d’Alzon! How does he do that ?

A Word from the Postulator

We are all called to become saints. That is the vocation of every baptized Christian. It is baptism that truly makes us saints, because it grants us the grace to become children of God. It gives us the power to participate in his divinity; we become heirs of eternal life. This is a totally free gift from God, that does not depend on our meriting it. It is like the imprint of the holiness of God himself inscribed in our being, and it is also like a seed that must be tended and made to grow within us. This is the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in the beautiful pages it presents on holiness (we reprint here a few of those paragraphs). We know how much Fr. d’Alzon loved to recall the date of his baptism. For him it was the real date of his birth, because on that day his journey toward holiness began. We also know how much he insisted that his own disciples and directees become saints. For him, the true Model of all holiness is Jesus Christ. But he also said that the Virgin Mary is a model closer to us....as are the saints. May Fr. d’Alzon be for us today a model of holiness close at hand. In him we have so many virtues to imitate!

Fr. Julio Navarro Román, A.A.

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On Christmas Eve 1850, the Congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption was born. That night Emmanuel d'Alzon, together with a small group of generous men (the first Assumptionists), pronounced their first religious vows, thus launching this new congregation.

The following imaginary "interview" with Fr. d'Alzon appeared in the Chilean Assumptionist monthly review, Eco de Lourdes, in 1999 in preparation of the 150th anniversary of the founding in 2000. As we celebrate the feast of Fr. d'Alzon this year, we are reprinting it because we received so many positive comments about it  (editorial staff, Eco de Lourdes)

- Fr. d’Alzon,  what would you say is the foundation of your work, of the congregation which you founded?

- The foundation of my work is Jesus Christ. Everything can be found in him. One should look to him alone and dedicate all to him, announce and preach him alone. We must teach what he taught and live as he did; we must always imitate him who is the Christ, the Son of the living God.