Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816 by Saint Eugene de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, 1782. The congregation was given recognition by Pope Leo XII on February 17, 1826. The congregation is composed of priests and brothers usually living in community. Their traditional salutation is Laudetur Jesus Christus ("Praised be Jesus Christ"), to which the response is Et Maria Immaculata ("And Mary Immaculate"). As of 2011, the congregation had approximately 4,400 (including 580 in formation) members serving in numerous parts of the world.

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate were founded in 1816 in Aix-en-Provence by Eugene de Mazenod. Born into the French minor nobility, his family were forced to flee to Italy during the Revolution. There he experienced years of family instability, poverty and danger. The family was forced to flee successively to Turin, Venice, Naples and Palermo. Returning to France as a young man, he entered the Seminary of St. Sulpice and was ordained in 1811.

On January 25, 1816, Father Eugene de Mazenod and four companions came together to preach missions in Provençal.

The congregation was established to renew the Church in France after the Revolution, primarily to

"(1) Revive the spirit of faith among rural and industrial populations by means of missions and retreats, in which devotion to the Sacred Heart and to Mary Immaculate is recommended as a supernatural means of regeneration. "He hath sent me to preach the Gospel to the poor", has been adopted as the device of the congregation. (2) Care of young men's societies, Catholic clubs. (3) Formation of clergy in seminaries

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