Institute to host conference on impact of French spirituality

Oblate School of Theology’s Institute for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality will host a major conference titled “Surrender to Christ for Mission: French Spiritual Traditions” Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 16-17. To register online, visit the OST website, www.ost.edu, and click on Events, then scroll down and look for “Surrender to Christ for Mission” and follow the “Find Out More” prompt. To register by phone, call (210) 341-1366 and ask for Laurence Gonzalez.
 
The conference will last from 1 to 9 p.m. Nov. 16 and continue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Nov. 17, followed by a reception and dinner, in OST’s Whitley Theological Center, 285 Oblate Drive, in San Antonio, with speakers commenting on the impact of French spirituality worldwide and locally through the work of a variety of notable French church figures and religious orders of priests, sisters and brothers. The event is part of the year-long celebration of the bicentenary of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1816 by St. Eugene de Mazenod, an early 19 ^th-century Bishop of Marseilles,France.  
   
This event aims creatively to explore central themes of French Catholic spirituality from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Themes such as Christ-centered mysticism, mission and service of the poor, surrender of the will, the significance of hiddenness, the prominence of women and laity, and heart-focused devotion will be viewed through the lens of key figures, religious communities and lay associations. These include St Eugene de Mazenod and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate whose bicentenary will be celebrated in 2016.
 
Major speakers include the following:
 

• Father Frank Santucci, OMI, Kusenberger Chair of Oblate Studies at Oblate School of Theology, presenting the introductory keynote on St. Eugene de Mazenod and the Oblate Charism.

Father Ron Witherup, PSS, the Superior General of the Society of St. Sulpice
(the Sulpician Fathers), speaking on the relevance of the French school of spirituality.

• Dr. Wendy Wright, professor of theology at Creighton University, speaking on the legacy of the French spiritual tradition.
• Sister Mary Frohlich, RSCJ, speaking on St. Therese of Lisieux’s insights into abandonment and self-sacrifice as key prerequisites for self-giving service to the poor.

 
 Breakout sessions will feature:
 

• Dr. Tom Donlan, a teacher at Brophy College Preparatory School, discussing on St. Francis de Sales’ contribution to French spirituality.
• Sister Mary Christine Morkovsky, CDP, discussing women and the French School of Spirituality.
• Father Tom McKenna, CM, provincial director of the Daughters of Charity St. Louis Province, discussing St. Vincent de Paul as a practical mystic and a mystical activist.
• Dr. Raymond Sickinger, professor of history and community service studies at Providence College, discussing the lay spirituality of Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam.
• Dr. Wright speaking on the rich symbolism of the heart in French Spirituality.
• Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI, President of Oblate School of Theology, commenting on fragments from the various addresses and conversations during the course of the conference.

 
The conference will include panel discussions and break-out sessions covering a variety of topics within the general theme of French spirituality.
 
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate first came to Texas in 1949, founding missions and evangelizing up and down the Texas-Mexico border and throughout Texas.  They founded what is now Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio in 1903.