A Word of the Postulator

Recently, Fr. Benoît Grière, the superior general, wrote a letter to the congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption, on religious poverty. He invited his brothers to change the way they do things in a world where materialism, consumerism, the waste of goods, and a lack of solidarity reign and to make concrete commitments in favor of the poor and the excluded of our society. For his part, Pope Francis never stops repeating : « I want a poor Church for the poor! »

Fr. Emmanuel d’Alzon had the same preoccupation. Even though he came from a rich and aristocratic family, he generously stripped himself of all his possessions and personally led a life that was sober and austere, one of exemplary evangelical poverty. The poor were always in his sights when considering apostolic priorities. There would be a long list needed to record all the works he undertook in on behalf of the working class, young boys and girls threatened by exploitation, orphans and children deprived of an education, the poor and the most abandoned of the society in which he lived. This love of the poor found its source both in his love for Christ who made himself poor among the poor and in his apostolic zeal to give rise to a society that was more just, more fraternal, and more rooted in Gospel values. This love of the poor is just one more indication revealing the holiness of Fr. Emmanuel d’Alzon.

Fr. Julio Navarro Román, A.A.

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